On Saturday, September 20th (2025), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Union local 5058 held its first ‘family fun day’ at the Tiverton Community Centre.
While the free event was about family fun, it was also to create awareness of the issues and challenges facing employees who work in organizations such as ‘family services’.
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According to the day’s organizer, Carolyn Cafik, the Union, under the slogan “Worth Fighting For” is “… fighting against funding cuts, more layoffs, recruitment and retention issues, services failing to meet the needs of our communities and children and families falling through the cracks”.
“The cuts have impacted workers who are having to take up second and third jobs just to keep up with the cost of living. We are glad that Bill 124 was repealed. They (cuts) are also impacting the workload at Bruce-Grey Family Services,” said Cafik. “We support and advocate for the most vulnerable and the workload in combination with the cuts being made are just not sustainable. What it does is impact those who have issues with addictions, mental health, trafficking and dangerous situations as waitlists are growing.”
Bill 124 that would have capped public sector wage increases at 1% per year for three years, was deemed “unconstitutional and a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms” by the Ontario Superior Court on November 29, 2022 after labour organizations challenged the Act and argued that “it infringed their right to freedom of association under section 2(d) of the Charter by undermining their right to collective bargaining“.
“We were in Owen Sound recently to support college workers there who are on strike,” added Cafik. “We have to stick together.”
Cafik said that, like many others, she works three jobs to keep up. “I even started a small business, ‘Starting from Scratch‘, selling sourdough bread.
