OPSEU Local 204 Leads Opseu Strike at Simcoe Picket Line

Unionized workers at Norfolk Association for Community Living began an opseu strike on Monday morning in Simcoe, setting up at the intersection of Highways 3 and 24. The picket line includes 160 direct support professionals and developmental services workers.

The dispute centers on wages and money the union says dates back to 2019. OPSEU Local 204 president Alex Dunsmuir said, “What people need to understand is we are doing this because we care about the people we support, and the fight is for staff to be able to afford to do this work, and to be able to remain in the field.”

Bill 124 and owed pay

The union tied the strike to Bill 124, which was introduced in 2019 and limited wage increases to a maximum of one percent total compensation for three years. The Ontario Court of Appeal struck down the law as a violation of Charter rights, forcing the return of over $6 billion in compensation. OPSEU said employees at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario and Ontario Colleges have received money owed, while support professionals at Norfolk Association for Community Living have not.

Dunsmuir said the issue is with the government that oversees the agencies, not with agencies such as NACL. He also said, “This fight is to have the government provide the funds to our employer, because in all honesty, our employers do not have the money to give us the remedy for Bill 124.”

OPSEU Local 204 in Simcoe

OPSEU Local 204 said the strike is part of the Worth Fighting For campaign involving 27 agencies across Ontario. The local has called for immediate, sustained funding increases to stabilize community health and social services, along with funded wage increases, including a 6.5 percent retroactive wage increase that other public-sector workers received after Bill 124 was repealed.

Dunsmuir said many members are working second jobs and using food banks and dollar stores to make ends meet. He added, “Either we take this stand now, or these services will continue to crumble, and people will not remain in this field.”

Worth Fighting For campaign

For families and workers tied to Norfolk Association for Community Living, the immediate issue is whether the agency can draw the funding needed to close the gap left by Bill 124. Dunsmuir said, “For the people we support, either these services are not here in five to 10 years, and they’re entirely privatized, or it’ll be death by a thousand cuts.”