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Sufficient staffing levels and job security at the heart of strike by campus safety workers at Carleton University.
Ottawa (14 Mar. 2014) — Safety workers at Carleton University have been walking the picket line this week to try to negotiate a fair collective agreement. Members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE) went on strike on March 10, after the University refused to negotiate a fair deal to address issues of job security and sufficient staffing numbers.
Campus-wide support for striking Campus Safety workers at Carleton
On the first day of the strike, the Special Constables were greeted on the picket line with a wide show of support from other campus union members and supporters from across the city.
Carleton University has hired a security company to replace the Special Constables and campus safety workers on campus during the strike. Unlike security guards, Special Constables have been trained by the Ottawa Police and have special responsibilities due to their increased qualificiations.
Joel Harden, faculty member and parent of a child at the Carleton's child care centre, spent time on the picket line showing his support for the work the Safety Workers do to ensure the campus is safe. "I'm a huge supporter for a couple of reasons," says Harden. "They keep our campus safe. They are fantastic professionals. My son is at the daycare here. We've had a number of incidents at the daycare where they're response time has honestly been less than 30 seconds. I'm worried about the safety of our centre with these scabs on campus."
While Carleton University has grown from 20,000 students in 2007 to more than 30,000 students today, the number of Campus Safety workers has not increased to match this growth in need. There are 50 Carleton University Safety Workers including special constables, dispatchers, campus safety officers and student safety patrollers.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE