Port Arthur Health Centre workers go on strike Monday

April 5, 2018

Thunder Bay – Workers at the Port Arthur Health Centre who are members of Unifor Local 229 issued a
strike notice for 8:30 a.m. on Monday, April 9.

“In consulting with our members, we wanted to give some advance notice to the patients of the clinic
that there will be a strike on Monday, so they can plan accordingly,” said Kari Jefford, President of
Unifor Local 229.

The union represents approximately 65 workers of the Centre, working as appointment secretaries,
medical aides and in medical records. The collective agreement expired on December 31, 2017.

The union’s bargaining committee said no progress has been made on key issues of precarious work
contracts or insufficient compensation for work. “The employees’ wages are so low that close to 65 per
cent of them will see an increase in wages when the minimum wage goes up next year,” added Jefford.
Despite having a plenty of hours of work available, two thirds of the 65 women who work at the Centre
have casual employment.

“The frustrating thing about this situation is that the employer is not arguing that they do not have the
ability to pay, but rather that they want to keep their operating costs low, which translates into profits
for them,” said Andy Savela, the Director of Health Care at Unifor. “It’s shameful; as care providers, one
would think they would care more about their employees.”

Although there are currently no future dates scheduled for negotiations with the employer the union
indicated it is willing to negotiate to seek a fair resolution.

-30-

For more information, please contact Asma Farooq, National Communications Representative at 647
327 9371 or Asma.Farooq@unifor.org