-

“We Were There for Patients in the Pandemic, Don’t Betray Us,” Osler and Georgetown Hospital Staff Protesting Tuesday and Wednesday to Fight Wage Cuts and Concessions

BRAMPTON, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hospital staff at the William Osler Health System and the Georgetown Hospital are joining thousands of front-line hospital workers across Ontario this summer in speaking out about their dissatisfaction with how their hospital employers and Doug Ford’s provincial government are treating them.

Registered practical nurses, personal support workers, environmental cleaners, and other hospital workers (who are members of CUPE 7811) will take part in four socially distanced rallies on:

Tuesday August 10, 2021
Georgetown Hospital 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., 1 Princess Anne Dr, Georgetown
Peel Memorial Center (William Osler)13:30 p.m. - 14:30 p.m. 20 Lynch Street, Brampton

And on:
Wednesday August 11
Etobicoke General Hospital 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., 101 Humber College Boulevard, Etobicoke
Brampton Civic Hospital (William Osler) 13:30 p.m. – 14:30 p.m., Peter Robertson Blvd and Velvet Grass Lane.

The William Osler and Georgetown staff are among nearly 70,000 hospital workers across Ontario currently negotiating a new provincial contract. But after working the past 18 months at a hectic pace in a pandemic, these workers feel devalued and betrayed by both the province and their hospital employers.

They deserve a fair contract say their unions, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and SEIU Healthcare but, they are instead, being “rewarded” by a wage cut under a provincial policy (Bill 124) that restricts them to a wage increase less than 1/3 of the rate of inflation. Bill 124 also impacts hospital workers’ ability to negotiate much-needed increases to mental health supports like psychotherapy and post-traumatic stress counselling.

CUPE National President Mark Hancock is the guest speaker at Wednesday’s rally at the Brampton Civic. Michael Hurley President of CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU/CUPE) will be speaking at all four rallies, where hospital workers will ask for respect and better pandemic protections – safety measures, which will also benefit patients.

In addition to getting Bill 124 repealed, they want the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) the umbrella group for hospital employers, to take several concessions, including language around seniority and retirement packages, off the table.

In July and early August, workers rallied at hospitals throughout Ontario’s northwest, northeast and east. Many similar rally actions are scheduled across the province through the end of August. A protest action is being planned for September 10 in Toronto.

CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU/CUPE) and SEIU Healthcare began bargaining with the OHA in June and will return to the table in early September.

lf/cope 491

Contacts

Stella Yeadon, CUPE Communications, 416-559-9300, syeadon@cupe.ca

Industry:

Canadian Union of Public Employees

Release Summary
Osler and Georgetown hospital staff protesting Tuesday and Wednesday to fight wage cuts and concessions
Release Versions
English

Contacts

Stella Yeadon, CUPE Communications, 416-559-9300, syeadon@cupe.ca

More News From Canadian Union of Public Employees

Unionbusting and safety concerns continue at Rockcliffe Flying Club as CIRB delays certification

Ottawa, ON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Workers at the Rockcliffe Flying Club filed to join CUPE in December 2025 after raising concerns about workplace culture and aircraft safety. Instead of respecting those concerns and letting workers exercise their right to join a union, the employer has responded with delay, pressure, and retaliation. What should have been the straightforward certification process is still not finished, nearly four months later. In that time, workers say the employer has used the de...

TCDSB Ends Beloved Language Program After 50 Years, 77 Jobs Lost

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On Thursday the Toronto Catholic District School Board announced that they will completely eliminate its long-standing International Languages Program, resulting in 77 dedicated language instructors losing their jobs. “This is a devastating and short-sighted decision,” said Val Di Gregorio, President of CUPE 3155, representing the language instructors. “For decades, this program has enriched students’ lives, strengthened communities and supported cultural connections....

“Cold-blooded decision on hospital funding,” says CUPE in response to Ford government’s 2026 budget

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The real dollar hospital funding cut announced in the 2026 provincial budget will intensify the crisis in Ontario’s hospitals, which are already funded at the lowest rate in the country, says the Canadian Union of Public Employees. “The government increased hospital funding by four per cent - a real cut of two per cent when measured against the six per cent increase in costs related to an ageing and growing population. This funding shortfall compounds a two per cent cu...
Back to Newsroom