CORRECTING AND REPLACING CUPE’s MEDIA ADVISORY: Kingston hospital staff to deliver large “all we want for Christmas, is no appeal of Bill 124 decision” holiday greeting card to area MPP on Tuesday

CORRECTION…by Canadian Union of Public Employees

KINGSTON, ON –/COMMUNITYWIRE/– Please replace the media advisory dated December 19, 2022 with the following corrected version due to multiple revisions.

The updated media advisory reads:

KINGSTON HOSPITAL STAFF TO DELIVER LARGE “ALL WE WANT FOR CHRISTMAS, IS NO APPEAL OF BILL 124 DECISION”
HOLIDAY GREETING CARD TO AREA MPP ON TUESDAY

Traditionally MPP’s issue season’s greetings cards to constituents. This year, Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) hospital staff have a special holiday card delivery of their own for Kingston and the Islands MPP Ted Hsu.

On Tuesday, December 20 (2022) at 11 a.m. front-line hospital workers will pop by MPP Hsu’s constituency office (837 Princess St – Suite 403) to drop off their large-size “all we want for Christmas, is no appeal of the Bill 124 decision” holiday greeting card.

Now that the Ontario Superior Court of Justice agrees that the Bill interferes with hospital workers’ right to freely bargain wages and has struck the wage cap down, hospital nurses, registered practical nurses, aides, porters, cleaners, clerical staff and more who are members of five large health care unions are urging the PC’s not to appeal the decision. And they want Hsu to be in their corner and tell the Doug Ford PCs to not appeal the Bill 124 court decision.

All hospital workers’ want for Christmas is for the PC government to invest time and funding into working on staffing solutions along with their unions, not into fighting them in court.

While season’s greetings focus on merry and bright it’s hard for Kingston hospital front-line staff who are struggling with high patient levels, too low staffing, and the continuing exodus of co-workers, to feel festive, says Barb Deroche president of CUPE 1974 representing thousands of staff at KHSC.

The greeting card that asks the MPP to give them no appeal of the Bill 124 decision, is a light-hearted approach to the serious hospital patient and staff crises Ontario faces not only his holiday season but into the New Year. A dire situation that the PC government has failed to take action to resolve.

“It’s no secret that area hospital staff have been loudly telling the PC government that their Bill 124 disrespects those of us on the health care front-lines. So many of our co-workers are leaving their jobs because of the wage cap and being demeaned by the PC government,” says Deroche.

Hospital workers in Ontario do not have the right to strike and the current patient and staffing crisis prevents them taking time to protest outside their hospital workplaces or at Queen’s Park. In addition to a holiday card drop for MPPs and the Premier this week, hospital workers are wearing a sticker saying Bill 124 NO MORE as a visible sign of protest against the PC’s intention to appeal a law (Bill 124) the court deems unconstitutional because it infringes on rights.

In November, CUPE, SEIU, ONA, OPSEU/SEFPO and Unifor which together represent 295,000 Ontario health care staff joined forces, issuing an SOS appeal to the Premier and health minister to adopt the unions’ solutions to stabilize Ontario’s crashing health care system and retain exhausted staff. The unions are committed to continuing joint actions in the New Year.

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For more information:

Stella Yeadon
CUPE Communications
416-559-9300
syeadon@cupe.ca