Ontario families struggling as community and social service workers strike enters fourth week

Workers and supporters hold a picket line outside the LCBO distribution centre in Mississauga, Ont. as OPSEU union members continue their strike on Tuesday, July 9 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston // Owen Rees is pleading to return to his Toronto group home, closed by a strike (CTV News photo)

For the last three weeks, Toronto resident Owen Rees has filled notebooks with pleas to return home to his roomful of records, his friends down the hall, and a dance party every Friday.

The 58-year-old with Down Syndrome has been living with his brother and his wife since his group home for adults with disabilities was closed due to a strike by support workers.

“He’s pretty depressed about the whole thing. And we’ve tried to explain it but we can’t,” Mark Rees tells CTV News.

Strike began on May 25

About 4,000 community and social service workers for 22 different employers hit the picket lines on May 25.

Represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), they are pushing for more funding from the province for their services and to catch up on retroactive wages held down under Bill 124. The legislation that capped public sector wage increases at one percent a year was eventually found to be unconstitutional.

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Families, community members impacted by job action

Mark Rees says other families have been in touch, trying to find ways to support their loved ones and each other with no end to the strike on the horizon.

“It’s this disconnection from (Owen’s) friends and housemates and his routines that’s really having a huge impact on him,” he said.

Parents of children with autism say their families are feeling unmoored and without the vital structure their kids need to thrive.

Anny Fayyaz says it felt like a rug was pulled out from under her when her son’s school and treatment centre Aptus was abruptly shut down.

“He’s having a very hard time,” Fayyaz says of 14-year-old son Zain.

“He’s also very anxious so I might have to ask his pediatrician to increase his anxiety medication. He is not doing great and I’m really very worried about regression.”

It’s a worry shared by Vicky Plytas about her 17-year-old daughter KC, who also attends Aptus.

“These are the kids that everybody forgets about in their budget,” she said.

CTV News spoke with other Aptus parents who describe their children as being in tears, lethargic, and “disregulated” since the school was closed and summer camps cancelled.

Some online learning has been made available, but Susan Cosgrove, whose son has been at Aptus for nine years, says that can’t fill some vital gaps.

“It’s the emotional support. It’s the social piece. You can’t really just kind of hire a babysitter for kids like ours when unexpected things happen,” she said.

‘Both sides are passionate’

Mark Rees and Aptus parents are pleading with OPSEU and their employers to talk and listen to each other.

“Both sides are passionate. Both sides really feel like they’re fighting for what is best for our kids, but the people who are losing out are the kids and the adults in their day program,” he said.

CTV News was not able to get in touch with a representative from Aptus Monday.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Salvation Army, which operates Owen Rees’ group home, acknowledges it’s a stressful time for residents and their families.

“…contingency plans are in place to support the safety, dignity, and continuity of care of the people we serve. Essential supports continue, and we remain in direct communication with families and substitute decision-makers regarding any impacts affecting their loved ones,” said Capt. Gina Haggett, who added that the workers at Owen’s group home weren’t subject to the limits of Bill 124.