This Saturday, the Workers of Colour are holding their annual picnic.  They would love for you to come out and join them.  There will be games for the children, games for the adults, food and refreshments.  Please not if you will be attending, please bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on as there is a limited number of picnic tables at the park.

We realize that the RSVP date is August 19th, but you can still contact region5wocc@gmail to see what arrangements can be made.

Labour Day 2017 is just under two weeks away. And once again, this will be a great opportunity to join hundreds of OPSEU activists, the WE OWN IT CAMPAIGN, the Fight for $15 & Fairness/Make it Fair Campaign, and more than 20,000 of our labour and community allies at the BIGGEST, LOUDEST and PROUDEST annual labour event in Canada!

WE OWN IT! Stop the privatization of our public services!
Support the Fight for $15 and Fairness!
Speak up for the rights of ALL workers and our communities!
When:   Monday, Sept. 4 at 8 a.m.
Where:  University Avenue, east side, south of Dundas St.
March:  West on Queen St. to Dufferin then south into the CNE

INVITE your OPSEU sisters, brothers & comrades to join us!
BRING your family, kids & friends
OPSEU T-SHIRTS and FREE ADMISSION to the CNE for all OPSEU members marching with us
PRIZES for the OPSEU locals with the best turn-out
SNACKS & DRINKS for marchers along the route. (Bring your own water.)
RIDES available FOR THOSE WITH MOBILITY ISSUES. (SPACES ARE LIMITED. E-mail us early to reserve your seat at opseuregion5ebms@gmail.com)

The CAMH Workplace Violence Prevention Committee held our first meeting on May 23. Members in attendance ‎included leaders from the JHSC, OPSEU and ONA (Central and Local), and programs across CAMH. This committee membership has been constructed for maximum collaboration.  Our aim is to create a Workplace Violence Prevention Program and culture of safety at CAMH that is second to none.

At our first meeting, Carrie Fletcher, JHSC Management Co-Chair, presented an overview of 10 current Safe & Well CAMH initiatives and received feedback on progress. There’s a lot going on!

Members discussed three initiatives for committee focus. First, we will proceed with a review of competency areas and training offerings available to CAMH supervisors. We want to be sure that our training is aligned with requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. To be clear, we will be looking at more than just alignment. My intention is to go beyond – to carve out a leadership role that continually raises the bar in prevention of workplace violence for the mental health sector.

The second initiative is a review of recommendations from the Joint Ministry Report on Workplace Violence Prevention. We will look for gaps in our current activities at CAMH and make a plan to fill those gaps. The third focus area is working to engage an external advisor to provide risk assessments on high-risk units at CAMH.

At our first meeting, we also discussed important safety topics such as restraints reduction, risk flagging and screening for weapons. We committed to the guiding principle that workplace violence prevention work will be generalizable to all parts of CAMH – to all locations, to inpatient and ambulatory environments. Lastly, we were unanimous in our commitment to measurement, reporting and continuous improvement as we continue our journey toward a Safe & Well CAMH for our staff. This is, of course, the best path to best care for our patients.

I’m looking forward to our next meeting on June 21 and I will work with ONA and OPSEU leadership as well as with our managers and directors to keep you updated on our progress.

Catherine

It is the time of year to join your colleagues for a summer BBQ! All staff and management are welcome!

WHEN:       FRIDAY JULY 14, 2017

WHERE:     Russell Street site courtyard

TIME:         11:30am to 1:30pm

Hamburgers/hotdogs/chicken/halal/vegetarian

A group of researchers from St. Michael’s Hospital, UHN, CAMH, and the University of Toronto, led by Dr. Janet Parsons, are conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the Vaccinate-or-Mask policy implemented in TAHSN Hospitals over the last flu season.

We invite all staff, physicians, students and volunteers to answer this brief electronic questionnaire: click here to share your views and experiences with the policy. The survey will take no more than 10 minutes to complete. Your participation is voluntary and anonymous, no personal information will be collected, and the information collected cannot be used to identify anyone.

For more info: Clara Juando-Prats at St. Michael’s Hospital, JuandoPratsC@smh.ca (416 864 6060; ext. 7850)

Study data will be stored for five years following completion of the study. The survey has been built using REDCap; study data will be stored in the St. Michael’s server.

Shauna Davies, Outpatient Registered Pharmacy Technician
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
1001 Queen St. W. Toronto ON M6J 1H4
416-535-8501 ext 32999
Fax: 416-583-1311
shauna.davies@camh.ca

L500 attended a rally to support OPSEU workers at L 571 UHN , where these particular pharmacy technologists are the lowest paid workers in the entire health care sector!

Workers must protect and defend professional qualifications and demand respect at the bargaining table for the skilled work they do!

As hospital workers we must always support each other in our struggles to achieve fairness moving forward.

L500 members with OPSEU President Smokey Thomas

OPSEU L500 is pleased to announce Carol won the election for Provincial Women’s Committee, representing R5 for the greater GTA!  The elections took place March 18, 2017, before 197 delegates at the Delta Hotel downtown Toronto.

Carol will go on to represent OPSEU women at all OPSEU conferences and affiliate conventions!

Thank you, Carol, for your dedication to women everywhere!😊🎉👍

Attached is a copy of the Region 5 June 2017 Weekend Educational Flyer; plus NEW OPSEU Member Portal – How to Register; Online Expense Tutorial.

To view the flyer click here.

NOTE: Local members may book hotel accommodations when forwarding fully signed (two signatures) application to the Regional Office. Members are not required to wait for their confirmation letters; confirmation letters will follow later. In addition, cancellation of hotel guest rooms is the sole responsibility of the member; it is not OPSEU’s responsibility.

Hi folks!

This is Julius from the We Own It campaign. I am writing to let you know that we are planning another Kathleen Wynne/Bankster Puppet walk along University Avenue. The last event was a big success, the public loves this type of thing and it gives our union great exposure! We can have an even greater impact with your help! We have leaflets to distribute to the public as well as asking the people to sign post cards which we will send to MPP’s.

This effort is in support of the We Own It campaign to protect public services from privatization. I think it would be great way to build local capacity by participating in this fun union event! Please invite your local activists to attend! I know they will enjoy it!

Here is the schedule:

Thursday, March 30

11:30 – 12:15  College and University (start)

12:30 – 1:15 Dundas and University  (end)

In Solidarity,

Julius Arscott

On the most recent payroll run, for the March 16, 2017, pay day, there was an over-contribution taken from the OPSEU group of employees at CAMH.

Deduction code “HOOP16” was active and took contributions, in addition to the normal HOOP deduction, therefore reducing employees net pay.

This Lawson glitch has been identified and employees will be refunded the over-deduction on the Off cycle pay for March 20, 2017.

If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to connect Daron Mahase, Payroll Manager, CAMH, 416.535.8501 Ext:3240, Daron.Mahase@camh.ca.