Community and social services workers in Renfrew walked off the job Monday morning, demanding better pay from the provincial government. Eighty-two employees from Community Living Renfrew County South took to the picket line on Raglan Street, part of a province-wide strike mandate by 4,500 OPSEU workers calling for retroactive pay increases following wage increase caps by Bill 124. “We’re fighting for our 6.5 per cent retroactive pay due to our wages being frozen at one per cent under Bill 124, and also to demand that the Ford government better fund community and social services,” said Local 472 president and long time Community Living employee Shannon Waddell. Bill 124 was repealed in February 2024, but many social services workers say they are still feeling the effects of the one per cent wage increase cap, adding that other provincial employees — like LCBO workers — did receive the retroactive bump. “The situation is pretty dire. Community and social services like these are some of the lowest paid across the province. Most developmental service workers work at least two jobs to pay the bills,” Waddell said. Community Living Renfrew County South provides social services like day programming and community housing to families with adult children living with disabilities. While workers are on the picket line, those services have stopped. But families in Renfrew say they are behind the employees on strike. “It’s a system that’s falling apart. Soon we won’t even have it,” said Murray MacDonald, whose 47-year-old daughter lives with Down Syndrome. “Then what are we going to do with all these dear people that need help?” Lisa Duggan’s son Alex is 37 years old and autistic. Alex has been attending Community Living Renfrew’s day program since has was 21. Duggan says the social interaction is crucial to her son’s communication. “It’s very hard to get stuff out of him. But these ladies (at Community Living), they can get it. They work with him. Without this program, Alex will regress. He will stop talking all together.” OPSEU says it has been in contract negotiations with the province for two years. In a statement, the Ministry of Children, Community, and Social Services said, “Our government has made historic investments in the development services sector, including nearly $4 billion this year, an increase of $1.6 billion since we took office in 2018 to provide people with access to the services they need, when they need them. While collective bargaining is a matter between the employer and the union, we expect every service provider to have strong contingency plans to protect residents and ensure their care is never disrupted.” Families in Renfrew are calling on Ontario Premier Doug Ford to invest in their children’s support systems. “[Doug Ford] came to Renfrew, and he shook my hand and he told me on stage at the Armouries that he would help me,” said Charlene Riopelle, whose son Travis lives with epilepsy. “He shook my hand and said, I’m a man of my word. Well Doug Ford, you’re not a man of your word.” “We are an essential service,” added Waddell. “But the government has not deemed us an essential service. But the support that we provide is essential to the people we support.”
