After a four-year long struggle for their first collective agreement, over 90 per cent of child protection workers at Kunuwanimano sign petition fighting for a fair contract

TIMMINS, ON –(COMMUNITYWIRE)– Child protection workers at Kunuwanimano Child and Family Services (KCFS) are stuck in an impossible position. Workers regularly experience violence or face threats and harassment while doing their jobs. But they’re also scared of being reprimanded for voicing concerns about their safety.

With 15 workers currently on sick leave because of trauma and mental health challenges, morale has never been lower – and that is having a direct effect on the 11 First Nations communities these workers support.

“These are challenging jobs in the best of times. We’re going into homes that are dealing with extreme poverty and deprivation. Our jobs are to support families and keep children protected and that means we need time and resources to build trust and ensure our own safety,” said Dailyn Burnett, President of CUPE 5304 representing roughly 100 workers at KCFS. “But we’re responding to calls alone in dangerous situations. That puts us at risk while leaving the children we’re meant to protect without the depth of care they deserve and need.”

In light of these challenges and in the hopes of securing a fair deal that invests in workers and services, CUPE 5304 delivered a supermajority petition today signed by 91 members. The petition called on the Board of Directors to ensure a healthy workforce able to meet the needs of the communities they serve.

“We know the history of Indigenous communities and child protection agencies. That’s why these communities deserve even more resources, not less,” said Lorrie Pepin, a child protection worker and member of CUPE’s Social Service Workers Coordinating Committee. “By burning workers out, by failing to support workers, the province and this agency are contributing to a long and tragic relationship between child welfare agencies and Indigenous communities.”

KCFS currently has more than 15 job openings and cannot attract new workers. Existing staff, meanwhile, are crying in their cars as they routinely face trauma and have been forced to take second jobs or rely on food banks because of chronically low wages and a grid system that has 17 steps to artificially keep wages low.

“I am incredibly proud of my coworkers for signing this letter. The response was immediate and powerful because we know that our jobs are important and this fight is about the resources needed to do those jobs better,” said Burnett. “It took us four years to reach our first collective agreement. Workers can’t wait that long to improve services and neither can the families we support.”

The two sides return to the table tomorrow. Workers remain hopeful that a fair deal can be reached.

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For more information, please contact:

Jesse Mintz, CUPE Communications
416-704-9642
jmintz@cupe.ca