Canadian Hearing Society, CUPE head back to negotiating table

The union representing workers at the Canadian Hearing Society has agreed to meet with management and restartbargaining on Wednesday.

CUPElocal 2073 has been on strike since March 6, when negotiations for a new contract broke down. Unionized workers at the Canadian Hearing Society have been without acontract for the past four years.

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The strike has included more than 225 employees at 21 locations across Ontario and has resulted in deaf and hearing- impaired clients complaining of severely reduced services, such as sign-language interpretation.

"We're hopeful that the employer is coming back to the table ready to do the hard work of bargaining," said Barbara Wilker-Frey, a national representative with CUPE.

Wages and sick leave remain points of contention.

"We don't want to pretend that the parties are not far apart. We were far apart when bargaining broke down and there's definitely a lot of hard work to be done," said Wilker-Frey.

The union maintains that both sides have not negotiated directly since the strike began.

"The Canadian Hearing Society and CUPE's agreement to go 'back to the table' follows a week of discussions that occurred through the Ministry of Labour's negotiators," saidKara-Ann Miel, a spokesperson with the Canadian Hearing Society, in a statement."In-person meetings are another step in the negotiation process."

The society added it "looks forward to meaningful dialogue ... that will lead to a sustainable and financially responsible deal."

Unionized staff at the Canadian Hearing Societyincludes sign language interpreters, audiologists, speech-language pathologists and counsellors.

Wednesday will mark the first time both sides have met face-to-face at the bargainingtable since early March.