Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) - 639 - GDI Services | The Ontario Federation of Labour

Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) – 639 – GDI Services

Show your solidarity

GDI Services, the multi-million-dollar company that is contracted by the Department of Defence to provide cleaning services at Petawawa’s Canadian Forces Base. After months of frustrating negotiations, GDI Services has refused to address many of the concerns raised by its workers, including the loss of their paid sick leave due to the rollback of the Employment Standards Act.

The workers are also dealing with a reduction in their health and safety provisions and have not seen their wages increase, despite GDI having signed the last contract obliging them to do so.  GDI is also seeking further rollbacks to Health and Safety provisions, staffing, employment standards protections and many others.

These hard-working cleaners provide valuable cleaning services for the military and their families. GDI Services has broken their word and is taking money out of the pockets of families in Petawawa.

What are the cleaners asking for?

Fair Wage Increase- In the last round of bargaining, wage increases of $2.25/hour were negotiated, so new employees would make $16.50/hour, and people with more than 5 years’ experience would make $17/hour. Since then, GDI has failed to honour the contract they signed off on. The workers are fighting to get these raises, along with a fair monetary raise in this round of negotiations.

Job Security- The company recently layed off 15 cleaners and have been using supervisors to perform bargaining unit work. They are also putting up ads to hire more cleaners into part time positions without benefits.

Health and Safety Provisions– The cleaners are trying to protect the health and safety provisions that ensure they have strong training to avoid and prevent injuries on the job.

Will there be a strike?

After months of negotiating with the help of a conciliation officer, talks broke down due to the number of concessions GDI was requesting. The employer refuses to address the workers concerns and therefore PSAC requested a No Board report. We are now in a legal strike as of 12:01 a.m. on July 25, 2019.

Help these cleaners get the respect they deserve!

Please take a minute to send an email to the CEO of GDI Services, Claude Bigras, claude.bigras@gdiservices.ca to demand that he treat these cleaners with the respect they deserve.