“We made sacrifices in this pandemic, why attack our workplace rights?” Ask Hamilton hospital workers, media conference Tuesday 11 a.m.

HAMILTON, ON – Anger and bewilderment are growing among Hamilton hospital staff that the Premier and provincial government have gone from seeing them as pandemic heroes to stripping their most important workplace rights.

Last week, the provincial government introduced legislation (Bill 195) that removes many citizen rights – such as the right to assemble and protest – and that will also (more specifically) remove many important health care workers’ workplace rights – like the security of having a shift and defined hours of work – indefinitely.

Dave Murphy the president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 7800 at Hamilton Health Sciences and Michael Hurley the president of CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU/CUPE) will hold a media conference tomorrow – Tuesday, July 14 at 11 a.m. in front of the Hamilton General Hospital (Barton and Victoria). 

Murphy and Hurley will review how Bill 195 (if passed without amendments) will affect health care workers and why CUPE hospital workers will mobilize to fight it.

CUPE, which represents more than 50,000 hospital staff in Ontario, held emergency discussions with sector leaders over the weekend and secured a 98 per cent mandate to fight the legislation. The CUPE leaders also voted on aspects of political action that will unfold rapidly over the course of the next few weeks before the Legislature rises on July 24.

A province-wide emergency membership discussion on the fightback plan will happen tonight.

WHAT: Media conference to review CUPE political action mobilizing against Bill 195
WHEN: Tuesday July 14^th, 2020 at 11:00 a.m.
WHO: CUPE 7800 President, Dave Murphy, OCHU/CUPE President, Michael Hurley
WHERE:  Curbside, park area in front of Hamilton General Hospital (Barton and Victoria Streets)

Contact:

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