Job Action Averted as CUPE 1750-OCEU Members Reach Tentative Deal With Workplace Safety and Insurance Board

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In the early morning after hours of marathon bargaining, members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 1750 / the Ontario Compensation Employees Union (OCEU) reached a tentative agreement with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.

“I am proud of my coworkers and the strength of our union, and I’m grateful for the inspiring support we received from across the province,” said Harry Goslin, president of CUPE 1750/OCEU. “We are a critical safety net for Ontario workers and Ontarians spoke up, sending thousands of messages to the WSIB leadership. This deal invests in members and will improve services for injured workers, and our bargaining team is going to stand behind it.”

In a historic sign of things to come, the tentative deal is the first major freely negotiated collective agreement in the province to include retroactive pay for workers who had their wages unconstitutionally suppressed by Bill 124. This was a major win for CUPE 1750/OCEU members.

Hours before the tentative deal was signed, Goslin attended a rally commemorating the fortieth anniversary of Injured Workers Day outside the Ministry of Labour. “The government and the WSIB need to listen to those who know where the problems exist and how to fix them: the workers at the WSIB and the injured workers who have experienced the system,” he told the activists gathered, attesting to the shared project of reforming and improving the WSIB for both injured workers and frontline service providers.

CUPE 1750/OCEU will be holding member meetings to present the tentative deal, followed by a ratification vote. No further information regarding the tentative agreement will be publicly available until the ratification process is completed.

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