Pickets were out and about at the Peel Plaza Courthouse. They’re members of local 1251 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
500 jail guards and human service counsellors have been without a new contract for 37 months. CUPE rep Everett Godfrey tells CHSJ News many of the union members are so fed up, they’re talking about strike action but the last time that happened people got hurt. One guard in the Moncton area almost lost an ear and another suffered a broken bone in her face.
The union is now waiting for a concilation report and has offered to give up the right to strike in exchange for binding arbitration but the province has rejected that.
Godfrey points out the jail guards who work in provincial jails are the lowest paid in the country.