HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2015-02-04, Page 22 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Striking Seaforth home health care
workers picket outside of hospital
3, Local workers
join thousands
across
province in strike
Marco Vigliotti
Huron Expositor
Local health care workers
picketed outside Seaforth
Community Hospital on Fri-
day, joining in a strike with
thousands of their counter-
parts at nine Community
Care Access Centres (CCAC)
across Ontario.
About 24 home health
care workers in Seaforth and
nearly 3,000 across the prov-
ince are involved in the job
action, which was called
after last-ditch contract
negotiations faltered.
The Ontario Nurses Asso-
ciation, the union represent-
ing the workers, said in a
statement that CCAC bar-
gaining units are seeking
"very small wage increases"
equal to those received by
unionized employees in the
hospital, public health and
long-term care sectors.
CCAC members had
already agreed to a two-year
wage freeze in their last con-
tract that expired at the end
of March 2014, the union
added.
Some workers at the Sea -
forth CCAC spent the morn-
ing hours rallying outside the
local hospital at the intersec-
tion of Centennial Drive and
Goderich Street, braving
frigid conditions to wave
placards seeking support
from the public.
"This is very important,"
said Laurie Henderson, Sea -
forth site representative with
the ONA. "It's a time where
we need to say we need fair-
ness in wages."
The workers involved in
the strike include care coor-
dinators, rapid response
nurses and mental health
nurses.
Patients at the Seaforth
CCAC will continue to
receive "in-home, school
and clinic services" as these
care plans "will not be
impacted by the strike,"
according to a statement
from the South West CCAC,
which oversees several sites
in the region.
There will also be no
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Marco Vigliotti/Huron Expositor
Striking home health care workers picket outside Seaforth Community Hospital on Friday.
service interruption for
patients with a visiting nurse,
therapist or personal support
worker and no disruption to
the process for those waiting
for a room, the South West
CCAC said.
The organization is tempo-
rarily closing its offices in
Seaforth, Walkerton, St.
Thomas and Woodstock for
the duration of the strike.
Seaforth is the smallest
CCAC site in southwestern
Ontario.
Festival Hydro warns
of telephone scam
Utility cautions
against divulging
credit card info
Marco Vigliotti
Huron Expositor
Festival Hydro is warning
customers about a telephone
scam where impostors identi-
fying themselves as employ-
ees with the utility company
demand an immediate credit
card payment for arrears on
their account.
The company says it never
solicits credit card payment
over the phone and urges
customers to "not divulge any
personal or account informa-
tion" if contacted.
"If you receive one of these
calls do not divulge personal
or account information over
the phone," Ysni Semsedini,
CEO of Festival Hydro, said in
a prepared statement.
Customers who are in
arrears will receive multiple
notifications "via their bill,
over the phone and through
the mail," well before being
disconnected, the company
said, adding that it never asks
for payments by wire
transfer.
Any credit cards payments
to Festival Hydro must be ini-
tiated by the customer using
Paymentus, the firm added.
Festival Hydro is urging
those who receive one of
these calls to report it to the
Canadian Anti -Fraud Centre
at 1-888-495-8501.
Customers with questions
about their account status are
advised to contact Festival
Hydro's call centre at 519-271-
4700 or 1-866-444-9370 from
Monday to Friday between
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Festival Hydro's Erie Street building in Stratford.
Mike Beitz The Beacon Herald