Employees of the Medical Labs of Windsor rally outside the lab on Ouellette Ave. October 13, 2017. (Photo by Maureen Revait) Employees of the Medical Labs of Windsor rally outside the lab on Ouellette Ave. October 13, 2017. (Photo by Maureen Revait)
Windsor

Lab Workers Expecting Long Strike

With no negotiations on the horizons, employees of the Medical Labs of Windsor are preparing for a long strike.

The members of Unifor Local 2458 say they are prepared to stay on strike as long as they need to to get a fair living wage. Union Chair Dina Roushanroz says after putting in the time and money for a good education, they deserve better.

"To get nothing back from an employer is pretty sad and that's a result of privatization of the labs and goes to show that profit means more than giving employees that actually make your money a livable wage," says Roushanroz.

Lab assistants start at $12.50 an hour at the lab, while lab technologists make $20.50/hr. At hospitals, people in the same positions start at close to $20/hr and close to $30/hr.

Local NDP politicians supported the workers at a rally Friday. They hope to get the government involved to stop private clinics from putting profit over employees and people seeking treatment.

"The key issue here is the drive towards privatization of our health care system. We're seeing this more and more, the privatization. We're seeing now live in living colour what happens when we privatize our health care system," says MPP for Windsor-West Lisa Gretzky.

There are currently 90 medical lab assistants and technicians on strike. The Medical Labs of Windsor has 11 locations throughout Windsor and Essex County.

Read More Local Stories