Nipissing and Parry Sound children's aid workers locked out

Children's aid society workers in the North Bay area found themselves on thepicket lineFriday morning, after they were locked out by the Children's Aid Society ofNipissingand Parry Sound.

About 140 members of Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 2049 began picketing at 9:00 a.m. outside the Main Street administration building, with plans for a rally at 11:00 a.m. at the society's head offices on McIntyre Street West.

• Children's Aid workers on verge of strike in Nipissing and Parry Sound

Local union president Debbie Hill said contract talks broke off because the two sides remain far part on several issues.

She said that workload is one of the main issues, with many child welfare and support workers being burdened with extra duties because vacant positions aren't being filled, as well as "unfair" contract language surrounding layoffs.

Keeping the picket lines up over the holidays will be difficult, Hill said, but added that her members are "strong."

"We're trying to accommodate members to have time with their families, which is extremely important, especially when they're dealing with this stress," she said.

"But we also want our presence out there and we want the communities to see that we're standing up for what we believe in and we're prepared to do what we need to," she added.

Hill said many of her members are also thinking about their client families and children, with whom they often develop close bonds.

"We really believe that this is a fight we need to support not just for our staff, but for those families and for those children," she said.

"That's what this is really about."

Benefits to sick leave at the centre of stalemate: CAS

Nipissing and Parry Sound Children'sAid Society executive director Gisele Hebertsaid she tried to avoid having a lockout over the holidays, but because the union filed a no board report with the Ministry of Labour, it had to happen on Dec. 23.

A no board starts the clock ticking on a strike deadline.

From the employer's perspective, Hebert said sick leave is the top issue, with her workers claiming twice as much leave as their counterparts at other children's aid societies.

She added that she doesn't see much point in scheduling new bargaining sessions at this point.

"You know, we're looking at changes to the sick leave benefit and they're looking at enhancements to the sick leave benefit that we currently have," she said.

"So, we're pretty far apart and there's really no sense in meeting if there's no movement on those positions."

Aside from a few programs that will have to be suspended, Hebert said the CAS has a plan to keep core functions operating.

That includes "helpers coming in either retired people or other agencies to assist us," she said.

"We're confident our contingency plan is a good one and we'll continue to service the children in care and the families that we work with."