Help Us Help You
Update
On Tuesday May 13, 2025, ONA staff voted 96% in favour of strike action.
A conciliation date is set for June 2, 2025.
About
ONA staff, members of SEIU Local 2, need a fair deal to continue our important work of supporting ONA members in Ontario. Our collective agreement expired on December 31, 2024, and we started negotiations in January 2025.
How many hours did LROs at ONA collectively work for no pay in 2024?
0 hours
X
500 hours
X
1,000 hours
X
5,000 hours
X
In 2024, we have collectively worked 8,290 without pay. We managed to carry over about 6,000 of those into 2024, but it is unclear how many lieu days we will manage to take. What’s not taken by July 31, 2025 will be forfeited.
Why would ONA staff do this?
Because we know the work YOU do is invaluable, and we want to support ONA members. However, we can’t continue to do so under our current working conditions.
Labour Relations Officers pay at ONA is maxed at 35 hrs per week. After that, hours go into a bank we cannot fully cash out – we must take time off in lieu of pay, but because there are not enough staff to do the needed work, we simply don’t get to take all our time off.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the number of unpaid hours worked by ONA staff has NEARLY DOUBLED with no sign of letting up.
It’s not only the LROs – there are also high expectations of Labour Relations Assistants. Many LRAs assist four LROs, are overworked, and understaffed. Request for overtime approval so that we can keep up with the workload is regularly denied, meaning these additional hours go uncompensated.
Employees in Dues and Finance, IT, and Building Services are also stretched thin; working long hours to ensure the continuation of services to their colleagues and the ONA membership.
Many of us work extra hours for no pay. We shouldn’t be taken advantage of simply because we care.
PHOTO ABOVE: Ottawa Office SEIU Members Support Their Bargaining Team!
What do we want?
What is ONA staff asking for?
Our last pass to ONA was 6% and 4% over a two-year period. Since 2020, SEIU members’ wages have fallen 6% behind the cost of living. SEIU’s wage proposal is designed to catch up for the erosion of their wages over the last five years and then factor in anticipated 2% inflation over the course of the next two years.
The SEIU staff union’s last wage proposal was less than what ONA advanced to arbitration on behalf of hospital and long-term care nurses in their last rounds. It is less than what ONA staff are achieving for ONA members in non-participating bargaining units as well.
How much will our proposal cost?
ONA’s costing of SEIU’s increases are inflated. We believe they represented to ONA leaders SEIU’s initial position at the bargaining table and not our latest offer to settle. Any increase in dues will also be used on management and non-union compensation and should not solely be pinned on SEIU’s reasonable asks.
What has ONA offered its staff?
ONA’s last offer to SEIU was 1.75% and 1.75%.
ONA has provided no rationale or explanation as to why their wage offer is less than what the OHA offered hospital employees; an offer ONA rejected and called disrespectful. They simply redirect and avoid those questions and blame SEIU for being unreasonable.
Over the course of bargaining, ONA has only moved 0.5%. ONA has said that they value and respect their staff, yet they withhold their compensation mandate from the SEIU bargaining team, and force us to take a strike vote. ONA is playing games with its staff bargaining. This will not result in a respectful relationship.
Is ONA asking its staff for concessions?
ONA is a non-concession bargainer; at least that is what they instruct their staff. Yet, when ONA the employer is at the table, concessions are apparently appropriate. In this round ONA the employer is seeking to eliminate language they freely negotiated last round. When similar concessions were proposed as part of a memorandum of settlement last round, staff already voted to reject that deal. If an ONA staff member agreed to such proposals they would surely face disciplinary action.
What happens next?
Conciliation is scheduled for June 2nd, 2025. Although we are focused on getting a new collective agreement, and will do everything possible to reach a new agreement, we are prepared to take strike action if ONA won’t make a similar effort. Strike Captain Training is being scheduled, the Branch Local has passed a motion to supplement strike pay provided by head office, a campaign website has been started – onasu.org – and we are meeting with our members to prepare them in the event of a strike.
What can ONA members do?
Why should ONA members care?
It’s not just about basic fairness. Current working conditions for ONA employees are making it difficult to retain staff.
We work hard to improve conditions (including compensation) for ONA members and you deserve to have the best staff in your corner looking out for your interests. ONA members are no strangers to being overworked and dealing with burnout, staffing levels and retention issues. We know there is more work to do, and we’d like your support so we can continue fighting for you.
PHOTO ABOVE: Marina, Kathi and Melanie from Dundas
Petition
Fairness & Respect for ONA Staff
Supporting ONA members is important work!
We call on ONA’s Board of Directors to negotiate a fair deal for ONA employees.
Background
ONA staff priorities are in many ways aligned with yours. Our pay simply hasn’t kept pace with the rising cost of living. Even though we are working more unpaid overtime than ever, inflation has outpaced any pay increases from ONA. During the Bill 124 years, like ONA members, we also only took 1% raises even though we were not subject to Bill 124, and inflation kept rising dramatically. Our real pay is now 6% behind where it was five years ago.
Fortunately, through hard work we helped overturn the government’s bill and ONA members are being retroactively compensated. We continue to work for you and in 2023 and 2024, we were successful in getting Hospital employees an average of 11.24% increase. In 2024 and 2025, the nursing home sector received an average of 11.5% wage increase thanks to the efforts of ONA staff.
Unfortunately, our employer doesn’t think we deserve the same catch-up. It’s a problem. And you can help.