Canada : Peel Children's Aid Society and union preparing for work stoppage
Peel Children’s Aid Society (CAS) is preparing for a labour disruption that could begin this weekend.
“We need to be prepared to provide services,” said Peel CAS Communications
She explained the agency, currently responsible for the care of some 300 hundred children and youth, is moving ahead with the implementation of its contingency plan.
Peel CAS has said the plan is designed to provide essential child protection services in the event of a work stoppage.
Qualified, experienced staff would be brought in to fill in for frontline workers on strike, the agency said.
However, the public has been warned there may still be an impact on service levels.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 4914 is scheduled to meet Friday evening with its membership to prepare for a possible strike.
The union represents about 435 frontline support workers and administrative staff at Peel CAS.
The deadline for a legal strike or lockout is Sept. 17 at 12:01 a.m., but the union has promised it would not initiate any strike action prior to Sept. 18 at 12:01 a.m.
Both sides insisted Friday that they remain ready and willing to return to the bargaining table if the other side wants to restart talks.
“If they want to get back to the table tonight, we will be there. If they want to get back to the table tomorrow morning, we will be there,” said Yung.
The existing collective agreement expired March 31, but the two sides began meeting in February.
Talks resumed Sept. 14 with the aid of a mediator, but broke offafter 12 hours when the union rejected a final offer from Peel CAS.