Media Centre
Will the Salvation Army have an epiphany?
January 6, 2012
Ottawa - Today, on the Christian commemoration of Epiphany, workers at the Booth Centre in Ottawa's Byward Market will go on strike in the hope that it will lead the Salvation Army to show wisdom and come back to the negotiations table. As of 3pm, workers will begin their picket outside 171 George St., but will ensure that clients wishing to access services at the Booth Centre will be able to do so without difficulty. The workers, represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), have been in a legal strike position since December 20.
“We've asked management repeatedly to return to the bargaining table with a fair offer and they have ignored us,” said Bill Riopelle, president of PSAC Local 73100. “They have left us with no other choice.”
Currently, many workers at the Booth Centre earn less than the living wage of $13.50 for Ottawa set by ACORN Canada. For example, the top wage for housekeepers and cleaners at the Booth Centre is just $11.31 per hour or $22,000 a year. In contrast, 39 managers at the Salvation Army in Canada earn an average of $131,165, with a top wage of $239,081.
Moreover, Booth Centre wages are between $2 and $5 less per hour than wages for comparable positions at the Shepherds of Good Hope. This is despite the fact that both shelters receive the same public transfers per client from the city and province, and that both operations make use of volunteers to complement paid staff.
The 2%, 2.5% and 3% wage increase offered by the Salvation Army is woefully inadequate. “In dollar terms,” explains Larry Rousseau, Regional Executive Vice President for the PSAC in the National Capital Region, “a 2% raise for housekeepers and cleaners translates into an hourly wage increase of just 23 cents. Over the workday, this raise would cover the cost of a medium coffee at Tim Horton's.”
Furthermore, according to Statistics Canada, the price of food has increased by 4.3% over the last year, indicating that the proposed wage increases hardly track the year-to-year increases in the cost of living.
“Our request for a better wage is a reasonable one. Many of us simply cannot make ends meet with our current pay. If the Salvation Army makes us a reasonable offer, we will return to the bargaining table,” said Mr. Riopelle.
On Epiphany it is customary to share a king cake, and so the workers will begin their strike by inviting clients of the Booth Centre to join them in this sharing at 3pm.
Date Modified : 2012/01/31
