If the province doesn't make a fair offer, more than 35,000 people will be on strike next year a local union president says.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union called for strike votes earlier this week after it said the province's initial offer at the bargaining table aims to dismantle the public sector.
OPSEU Local 708 president Shawn Bradshaw, who represents around 162 workers at the Thunder Bay Corrections Centre said a strike, which members in Thunder Bay will vote on Dec.3, is a foregone conclusion in January if the province plans on sticking to the offer.
"The government's initial offer was so bad that we're not willing to start with that as a starting point," he said Thursday morning as corrections workers rallied near the centre on Highway 61.
"The whole process is fundamentally flawed."
Reduced benefits and wage freezes have been handed to the service for more than five years now he said.
"They've tried to make up for their scandals on the backs of the public service," Bradshaw said.
For corrections officers a strike would mean that some members would be on the picket line while others would be forced to work in even more unsafe conditions than they currently do. OPSEU has called for a public inquiry into corrections for both workers and offenders in the system. Thunder Bay Jail corrections officer Ed Collins said he's seen conditions go from bad to worse in his 15 years on the job.
"We're not satisfied with the offer they put out and we're going to fight for what we need to have as far as being able to work in a safe and healthy environment," he said.
