Wednesday, November 01, 2017
Starting early next year, the OPS Employer plans to begin moving all employees out of the Macdonald Block to allow for complete reconstruction of the complex. By early 2019 the entire complex will be vacated. Most immediate of our concerns will be the upheaval of moving thousands of OPS employees—not just from one floor to another but to other areas of the city.
On Monday, October 30, Vice-President Cynthia Watt attended Secretary of Cabinet Steve Orsini’s OPS-wide Town Hall, where he and senior members of the project team provided an update on the project. More than 300 people attended in person, with hundreds more joining in by phone.
The Secretary reiterated many of the timelines that we are already aware of, and made one important new commitment. He shared with employees that his intention, and the recommendation that will be made to Management Board, is to provide a new space to the Queen’s Park Childcare Centre to space to be renovated within Frost South. AMAPCEO and many members and other stakeholders have been advocating for this commitment since the reconstruction project was announced. While we have not seen a final written agreement, AMAPCEO, and members present at the town hall were pleased to hear the Secretary’s commitment.
AMAPCEO wants to protect members’ interests in the form of health and safety protections, ensuring that working conditions and lifestyle and alternative work arrangements are respected and making sure members are well-informed and afforded every opportunity to provide input on the Employer’s plans.
The question of how flexible work arrangements will be handled, and the new work spaces that will be available during the renovation and once employees return to Macdonald Block was also discussed at length. AMAPCEO continues to strongly advocate that flexibility for employees needs to become a reality. The Employer articulated at the town hall that there is a commitment at the level of the Secretary and Deputies to flexible work and acknowledged that this is not the reality throughout all ministries and at the level of reporting managers. Addressing this issue will be a priority over the coming months and years.
Vice-President Cynthia Watt is working closely with District Directors Angela Freeman (Mowat/Hearst), Cesar Furtado (Frost/Hepburn), and Maryanna Lewyckyj (Ferguson/Whitney) on this matter. Vice-President Watt will be working to influence decisions and advocate on members’ behalf at the AMAPCEO Central Employee Relations Committee (ACERC) and directly with senior decision makers in government.
The AMAPCEO Board of Directors has already enacted a policy to ensure that members who are relocated as part of this temporary process will remain in their home Districts for representation and election purposes.
Watch for updates in upcoming Member News email newsletters, and please send any questions or concerns to watt@amapceo.on.ca or schein@amapceo.on.ca.