Frontline workers rallied outside of Milton MPP Parm Gill’s office yesterday.
They are protesting Bill 195, a piece of legislation that states that healthcare employees can have their shifts changed from days to nights, be reassigned to another job, be relocated to another community, can be laid off without notice, and have their parental leaves cancelled.
The President of CUPE Ontario, Fred Hahn, says you don’t need to take away the rights of healthcare workers.
MPP Parm Gill provided a statement on the protest, saying that the measures allow hospitals to provide the best care possible during the pandemic.
“First off, I want to thank our heroic frontline workers who are providing the critical service and care we all rely on. At this time, it is critical we keep emergency orders in place to ensure we are able to respond effectively to the COVID-19 outbreak. The measures used will allow hospitals to focus on providing these important frontlines services. As we continue to fight this pandemic, we look forward to continuing to work with our sector partners to protect the health and well-being of all Ontarians”
Hahn says they lived with the situation during the early stages of the pandemic. Now, with the State of Emergency having ended, they’ve had enough.
Hahn adds that the residents of Milton voted Gill in to represent Miltonians. He says Gill now represents everyone: from the factory workers, to the educators, to the healthcare workers. Now, it’s time for residents in Milton to let Gill know what they think of the Bill.
CUPE Ontario has held roughly a dozen rallies across the province. Hahn says it is their goal to hold up to 30 of these rallies so that they make the issue common knowledge. He says the average person doesn’t know about Bill 195 and if people came together to fight for frontline workers’ rights, the decision could be flipped immediately.