Wednesday, March 29, 2023
As part of AMAPCEO’s Day at the Legislature, your union spoke with elected officials from all four parties about the issues most important to our members.
Below, you can find a summary of where AMAPCEO stands on these issues, how we have worked to represent your interests, and our next steps for moving forward.
Investment in strong public services
As Ontario’s professional employees, AMAPCEO members provide invaluable services to the people of Ontario. We know that it is people that make up this province—and an investment in strong public services and fairer working conditions for the people of Ontario is an investment in Ontario’s future.
That is why your union has consistently called for a move away from austerity and towards investment in public services. We know that a strong public service benefits everyone. In our response to the fall economic statement, AMAPCEO noted that recent studies have found that investing in the public sector fights the effects of inflation and yields “a greater economic impact on GDP and jobs than investment in other industries.”
AMAPCEO will continue to demonstrate the value of the work our members do, through our ongoing Working for Ontario campaign and by putting pressure on the government to invest in growing and strengthening Ontario’s public service.
Bill 124
Since Bill 124 was first tabled, AMAPCEO’s position has consistently been that the bill is unconstitutional, unnecessary, and demonstrates a disrespect for Ontario’s hardworking public servants.
AMAPCEO, along with 39 other unions, successfully launched a challenge of Bill 124, and in November, the Superior Court found that the legislation was unconstitutional and interfered with collective bargaining. The government, however, chose to defy the court’s decision and committed the province to another costly and time-consuming legal process.
As part of the coalition of unions, AMAPCEO is moving forward with our fight against the provincial government’s appeal. We have also requested a meeting with the Ontario Public Service (OPS) Employer to begin the process of implementing the remedy clause the union negotiated in recently completed OPS bargaining.
AMAPCEO will continue to put pressure on the government to drop its appeal of the Superior Court’s decision and show public servants the respect they deserve. While we hope the government will do so, if not, AMAPCEO will fight this legislation every step of the way and push to get you the remedy you deserve.
Hybrid work
Throughout the pandemic, AMAPCEO members made it clear that they are more than capable of working for Ontario anywhere.
Flexible work became an important priority for AMAPCEO members across all bargaining units, and AMAPCEO has continued to argue in favour of a remote work policy to be adopted by the OPS and the agencies where AMAPCEO-represented employees work.
Our agreements have some of the strongest language regarding flex work in the public service and AMAPCEO has been clear that we intend to use it.
Earlier this year, AMAPCEO launched an Alternative Work Arrangement (AWA) campaign in the Ontario Public Service, offering a simple tool that can assist members in the OPS in drafting and submitting their AWA request. AMAPCEO also committed a team of dedicated Workplace Representatives to assisting members with these requests.
In the coming months, AMAPCEO will be committed to seeing each and every one of these requests through, all the way to the grievance process if necessary. AMAPCEO members have proven themselves more than capable of fulfilling their duties with flex work and will be fighting for your opportunity to just that.
Outsourcing
AMAPCEO has always maintained that the use of external contractors and consultants should be incredibly rare within the public sector. Outsourcing is costly, inefficient, and it erodes the deep bench of talent within the public service.
AMAPCEO has made the curtailing of outsourcing within the public service the cornerstone of its policy submissions. In our pre-budget submission this year, we noted that in 2022, the Ontario’s Auditor General found that the government significantly overpaid for IT consultants, with consultants paid double what the salary for full-time staff would have been, and that the province paid well over the standard rate for management consultants McKinsey during the pandemic.
AMAPCEO will continue to advocate for bringing the use of external contractors in the public service under control, and for improving transparency by requiring a public disclosure of all government contracts of $10,000 or more. AMAPCEO is also planning to launch a research project to identify and publicize ministries that are greatest offenders regarding the hiring of external consultants.