Strike ends at Massey Centre
[attach]1987[/attach]A three-month-long strike at Massey Centre for Women came to end this week after management reached an agreement with staff.
According to the centre’s website, staff began returning to work July 21.
The strike had disrupted services – daycare, prenatal and postnatal programs – at the centre for over 100 mothers and babies.
The strike was largely over salaries. The centre’s employees voluntarily accepted two-year wage freeze in 2000 that stretched out for 10 years. The centre’s CEO Ekua Asabea Blair said in a previous interview that wage raises were unaffordable because of under-funding at the centre.
Earlier this month, the union representing striking employees asked for the centre to be recognized as an essential service under the Hospital Labour Disputes Arbitration Act.
A spokesperson for Service Employees International Union Local 1, representing Massey Centre workers, and Massey Centre CEO Asabea Blair were not immediately available for comment Thursday afternoon.
According to a statement released by SEIU Local 1, the agreement “opens the door for the province to commit to stable funding” for the centre.
