Last month, the Nova Scotia government fired without notice 42 unionized shelter workers employed by Out of the Cold (OTC) as the province announced that it would be handing over operations to a new provider, Atlantic Community Shelter Society. The workers are now fighting the government to have their contract reinstated.
On July 8, workers were fired and given 15 minutes to collect their belongings. They were threatened with arrest if they took any longer. To add insult to injury, the government has promised that the workers, organized under the Service Employees International Union Local 2, would be able to apply to the new provider in non-unionized positions for lower pay and fewer benefits.
Hazy Explanation from Government
The Department of Opportunities and Social Development (DOSD) oversees the shelters in Halifax and was responsible for the firing of the shelter workers. The department cited mismanagement of the shelters by OTC as the reason for the abrupt termination.
However, in justifying this extreme manoeuvre, the province has only hinted at vague and unspecified issues with OTC mismanagement. In a one-sided piece run by the CBC on July 15, Suzanne Ley, executive director of employment support and income assistance with DOSD, spoke of “significant failures in things like safety and infrastructure.”
The sum total of all evidence given to workers and the public as justification for the firings was two pictures of messy rooms at the Halifax site.
The North Star spoke with Carlo Cininni, a resident support worker at the Dartmouth OTC site, about on the CBC article and the pictures provided:
“Yeah, the room looks like a mess. There's insulation everywhere. There's clothes on the ground. There's milk jugs on the ground. What the public doesn't know is that the people that live there under our mandate have a degree of autonomy. They were independent living. We're not the cops. We're not strict enforcement. We ask people, we work with people to clean their rooms, but someone maintained their room like that.”
He continues: “Why someone maintained their room like that? They're high acuity, they might have some issues with being able to regularly clean their room. If you're giving someone harm reductions supplies regularly, and they use it regularly, then the proliferation of needles happens quite quickly. And if you're even trying to do daily room cleanings and someone's dysregulated, or even just not having a good day and doesn't want to clean their room, we're not going to kick them out because they don't want to clean their room.”
Workers Demand Respect for Union and Collective Agreement
The shelter workers are demanding their jobs back under the same collective agreement and with the same working conditions. The workers held a rally outside the Province House where nearly 200 people gathered to show support and express solidarity.
When asked about his thoughts on the fight ahead, Carlo had this to say:
“If we as workers don't get our act together and start trying to organize, then we're more vulnerable. If you look at the cost of living here, it's absurd that they'd be paying people less. And insulting us by saying that we should apply to a new service provider after losing our jobs in such a hostile manner? And the new service provider is paying $1.50/h less? It's a huge slap in the face.”
Potential Ulterior Motives for the Firings?
Shelter workers do not deny that OTC sites had, like most workplaces, mismanagement. However, they are arguing that this mismanagement is not the reason for the mass firing.
“If you look at the new job description, at how much people are going to be paid, they're un-unioninzed positions at $22 an hour for the position I had, where I was paid $23.50 an hour,” said Carlo.
“So, why is the province initially claiming they are not moving to dry sites, taking a service provider with un-unionized positions that pay less and has no experience with harm reduction? That's what a concerned citizen should be asking themselves.”