Mental health workers hit the picket line after last-minute talks fail

Mental health workers hit the picket line after last-minute talks fail

Workers at Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Addictions and Mental Health are on strike after last-minute weekend talks failed to prevent job action.

OPSEU/SEFPO says members of Local 441 walked off the job as of 12:01 a.m. Monday.

The union says both sides met Saturday, May 23, after Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes MPP Steve Clark announced the agency would receive a four per cent increase to base funding. OPSEU says that works out to about $441,000 in new funding.

The union says the agency offered workers just five cents more than its previous offer.

Alex Lane, a staff representative with OPSEU/SEFPO’s Brockville regional office, says vulnerable clients and community members could now face service delays and cancellations.

Lane says people should ask CEO Kim Gifford why staff are not “worth fighting for.”

The agency says clients will be kept updated as soon as possible, with details coming on a triage line and available supports.

Members had voted in April to strike if talks broke down. The union had also filed for a no-board report, starting the countdown to job action.

LLGAMH provides community-based addictions and mental health outpatient services across Lanark, Leeds and Grenville.

The union says it continues to call on the Ontario government to address funding shortages and wage concerns.