OPSEU Local 273 Bargaining Team 2023
Rohan Quest
Andrea Flynn
Tara Rivest
Melanie Amyotte
Lori Reimer
Jen Stevenson – Alternate

Update: Training is underway for our bargaining team and negotiations will start in May.

Update April 12, 2023-

As you may already be aware, in November 2022, Bill 124 was overturned by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Bill 124 was the Ford government’s compensation restraint legislation which limited what could be negotiated for wages and other compensation to no more than 1% per year for a three year period. This impacted our negotiations in 2019 and again in 2021.

However, with the legislation overturned, Local 273 approached the employer about negotiating increased compensation for the years we were affected by Bill 124. We met with the employer for the first time today and will be meeting again on April 26 and May 3. The meeting today was productive and we are hopeful for a positive outcome.

We will provide a further update after our next meeting.

Bill 124 Reopener update: April 26, 2023        Document             Document 2

This communication is to inform you that we have reached agreement with the Hospital on increased compensation in light of Bill 124 being overturned last year.

Bill 124 was the provincial government’s compensation restraint legislation which limited increases to wages and other forms of compensation to no more than 1% for a three year moderation period. As a result, we were forced to serve our 3 year moderation period in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

This meant that we only received 1% wage increases during each of those years.

With Bill 124 no longer in effect, we approached the Hospital about re-opening negotiations on compensation and they agreed. We met on April 12, 2023 and April 26, 2023 and we were able to reach agreement on the following compensation enhancements:

General Wage Increase

April 1, 2019 – An additional 0.75% (Total 1.75%)

April 1, 2020 – An additional 0.75% (Total 1.75%)

April 1, 2021 – An additional 1.00% (Total 2.00%)

The above increases are retroactive. Retroactivity will be paid to current and former employees within six (6) pay periods of the date of agreement. The new wage rates will be implemented ASAP.

We note that these increases are also consistent with what the OPSEU/SEFPO and ONA central agreements received during those years. Effectively, these increases represent what we would have received in these years if Bill 124 had not been in effect.

Finally, this represents a total additional increase of 2.5% for our members.

Premiums and Benefits

The below increases are retroactive to April 1, 2021:

Evening Premium – 15 cents increase ($1.95 to $2.10)

Night Premium – 15 cents increase ($2.35 to $2.50)

Weekend Premium – 15 cents increase ($2.50 to $2.65)

Standby – 10 cents increase ($3.30 to $3.40)

Standby (Holiday) – 10 cents increase ($4.90 to $5.00)

Meal Allowance – Increase from $7.00 to $9.00

Effective date of the agreement

Dental – Crowns, Bridges, Implants – increase of 500$ annually (from $1500 to $2000)

We see this as a significant win for our members and we will now be proceeding into negotiations for a renewal of our collective agreement which expired March 31, 2023.