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Liquor Board and Union have differences The fact that close to 70 employees of the On- tario Liquor Board's Whitby warehouse took up placards last week calling attention to what they believe are un- satisfactory working conditions is not an ac- curate reflection of the tenor of negotiations between the Board and- its unionized employees, according to warehouse Manager Henry Toran. "There's no fight here," said Mr. Toran on Thursday, "It's a peaceful protest - we're on talking terms." Differences that have arisen between the Board and its em- ployees are part of a "natural evolution" that is taking place while the Board transfers its warehousing facilities from Kipling Ave. to Whitby, according to the spokesman. To hear Ontario Liquor Board em- ployees union President John Miles however, is to gain a somewhat dif- ferent perspective on the situation. "A lot of issues have corne up since they began the transfer 'to Whitby ... and the Board keeps saying they're going' to be addressed but notjiing's been done," sáidMr. Miles. The union has gone without a collective agreement since June of 1984 and a one year ar- bitration award has also lapsed. Although monetary differences between the two parties have been ironed out, Mr. Miles said there are still serious concerns in the area of workers' rights and security. At the head of that list of con- cerns is the fact that the board is augmenting its staff with workers who are classified by the board as being part- time despite the fact that many are working full shifts and perfor- ming the same duties as unionized personnel, according to Mr. Miles. "There's no dividing line between the part- tine and the unionized employees. They're working side-by-side and putting in 37 and a half hours a week but the part-time staff are making. $4 an hour less," said Mr. Miles. In many cases the part-time workers are thrust into the front lines without adequate training, according to the spokesman. And this, he maintains, combined with the fact that all employees are being overworked to compensate for the Board's problems bringing the Whitby plant up to full produc- tion has resulted in a marked increase in Workmen's Compen- sation claims. During the month of October the number of claims rose to 15 from a monthly average of two said Mr. Miles and he expects that figure to increase this month. "There are a lot of kinks in the Whitby warehouse that still have to be ironed out," said Mr. Miles listing a succession of problems including major com- puter failures which have contributed to the plant's failure to come up to full production. While workers at the Kipling plant, many of whom are now in Whit- by, enjoyed perks such as job rotation or job preference based on seniority, Mr. Miles said no such arrangements are in evidence in Whit- by. "We've had instances were old-timers were lifting cases onto a fork- lift driven by a part- timer," said Mr. Miles. CONT'D ON PG. 8 This week's Feature A theatre troupe made up of disabled actors rolled into town.last vweek to entertain Henry Street High School students. Cerebral palsy vic- tim, Desi Burningham, above, lead the Rolling Thunder Theatre Company in their performance of "Given Half a Chance". See page three for story. Whitby-Oshawa vacancy rate 0,1 If Pete Rice were still aive, he'd have been proud. In memory of the 50 year old Brooklin man who died two years ago of a heart attack, the Brooklin Kin- smen, along with many of Pete's frlends, raised $3,500. The money, raised during a 3-day baseball and music festival last spring, went to purchase heart monitoring equlpment for the Dr. J.O. Ruddy General Hospital. Last week, the Kinsmen and spring festival organizer Wayne Church, Rice's November 27, 1985 32 Pages closes.t friend, presented. *the equipnient to the hospital staff. Above, Larry Morden, past president of the Brooklin Kinsmen Club tries out the equip- ment while Gloria Tuck, director of nursing, Sylvia Spice, medical/surgical nurse, Kinsmen Don Vipond, and Wayne Church admire the new equipment. The monitor will be used in the hospital's intensive coronary care unit. Free Press Staff Photo By SUSAN LESJAK Free Press Staff The latest Canada- wide housing survey confirms what most area residents already know. Whitby-Oshawa, with a vacancy rate of 0.1 percent, has one of the Most critical housing shortages in the country. The survey, conduc- ted by the Canada Mor- tgage and Housing Cor- poration shows only five apartments available, out of a total of 8,000 units. While another 150 units are slated for completion in 1986, CMHC housing anaylist Don Nijsse says the high demand means new apartments will be ab- sorbed immediately. The lack of housing, of course, has driven ren- tal prices up, making af- fordable housing dif- ficult to find. The statics are familiar, but, what are the human consequen- ces? Last month, a desperate mother pit- ched a tent on the Whit- by shore of Lake On- tario to shelter herself and her children. A middle aged couple have been sleeping in the basement of a friend's home for the past two months, while their two teenage children have been camping in the family truck outside. On a In its first report to the Ministry of Health, the province's fledgling Psychiatric Patient Ad- vocate Office asserts that it has significantly advanced the level of awareness of patients' rights among both staff and patients at On- tario's psychiatric hospitals. However, by the same token, the report in- dicates -that the provin- ce still has "a long way welfare cheque of $600 a month, affordable housing is hard to come by. And it's not just welfare recipients who are having a tough time. "There are middle in- come people who can't get housing for $350 or $450 a month," said Durham Region's commissioner of social services, Doug Johns. "It'swicked." Johns described the housing shortage as "probably the most serious social problem facing the region." While the people who resort to pitching tents or living in trucks represent the "worst case scenario", Johns said there are a lot of other "desperate" people out there. "The only difference is they're sleeping in their mother's living room or on some friend's floor, so you don't hear about them " he said. 'Make no mistake about it, things are bad," For families caught in the crunch, there are few places to turn. While anyone who's lived in the province for at least one year and has dependants under 18, can apply for sub- sidized housing, there's only space for the worst cases. And even then, the minimum wait is N.O CONT'D ON PC. 3 to go towards developing a more dignified and legally ac- ceptable approach to the treatment of the psychiatrically disabled - throughout the mental health care system." According to Whitby Psychiatric Hospital Patient Advocate Karen Walker, the advocate prograrm was established in 1983 in CONT'D ON PG. 2 Vol. 1.5, No. 48 'r A Great Tribute Psychiatric patient advocacy working E'E P R El S