02/18/2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OPSEU/SEFPO Local 116 Information Picket
Thursday, February 19 | 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
1680 Oxford Street East, London
Members of OPSEU/SEFPO Local 116 will be holding an information picket on Thursday from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. to raise awareness about the ongoing crisis in child welfare and community services in London and Middlesex.
Local 116 members have been without a contract since March 2025. Since then, we have faced layoffs, service reductions, and growing caseloads. These are not just labour issues, it is a community safety crisis. They directly affect how we keep children and youth safe.
Child protection work is becoming more complex. Families are navigating poverty, housing instability, mental health challenges, and strained health care systems. At the same time, funding has not kept pace with need. Years of wage restraint before and after Bill 124, combined with rising costs of living, have left many frontline workers struggling to meet their own basic needs while supporting others through crisis. Workers are being asked to do more with less while the executive compensation continues to grow!
Instead of investing in safe, licensed care, agencies are increasingly contracting our care, using unlicensed homes, and patching systems that should protect our most vulnerable. This raises serious concerns about safety, oversight, and long-term stability. Our communities shouldn't have to choose between chronically underfunded services and risking harm to our children. Underfunding divides families, we deserve better!
Across Ontario, community and social services are under strain. Underfunding does not make problems disappear. It shifts the burden onto workers and families, increasing burnout, instability, and risk. When child welfare, health care, housing, and developmental services are stretched beyond capacity, children pay the price. The reality is that public services must be properly funded, staffed and resourced so that workers can protect communities, not just "triage" crisis after crisis.
Our message is simple:
• Children and youth deserve safe, stable, licensed care.
• Families deserve properly funded community services.
• Workers deserve fair wages, manageable caseloads, and respect.
We are calling on the provincial government to provide sustainable funding for child welfare and community services. We are calling on the Board and Executive Leadership Team at the Children’s Aid Society of London and Middlesex to take accountability for decisions that impact both workers and the community.
If workers cannot afford to live in the communities they serve, if caseloads continue to grow, and if services continue to be cut, the system becomes less safe for everyone.
We invite community members, allies, and advocates to join us from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. at 1680 Oxford Street East to learn more and stand up for safe, sustainable child welfare services in London and Middlesex.
