Lennox and Addington Interval House workers in Napanee on strike – Kingston | Globalnews.ca

Around 20 workers at the Lennox and Addington Interval House are currently on strike.

The work action began Friday, after negotiations over a collective agreement broke down.

Jerry Dias, Unifor’s president, visited the picket lines in Napanee last week to show support.

“Members told their employer that enough is enough — the years of working short staffed must end, both for their well-being, and for clients of the homes,” Dias said in a statement Friday.

According to the union, the current collective agreement has been expired for more than one year.

Workers are asking for the same processes and benefits that other agencies in neighbouring communities have, mainly focused on issues of representation, disciplinary actions and job postings.

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Kingston’s Dawn House women’s shelter looking for help during these covid times.

Unifor says workers delayed strike action by 10 days, hoping the employer would come back with a better offer.

“Instead, the employer refused to acknowledge previously agreed to health and safety language and made no effort to improve on staffing levels, issues of respect and low wages,” Unifor said.

The employer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.