COPE Leads the way!
Earlier this year, COPE Ontario negotiated a first ever Collective Agreement at Planned Parenthood Ottawa, making staff at PPO the newest members of COPE Local 225!
Founded in 1964, Planned Parenthood Ottawa is a pro-choice organization supporting informed sexual and reproductive health choice through education, counselling, information and referral services.
The Collective Agreement reached at Planned Parenthood Ottawa includes extensive considerations made for quality of life and potential for professional growth. It also includes groundbreaking language in several areas, for example, menstrual and menopause leave. The menstrual leave language, which grants one paid day of leave per month for reasons related to menstruation and menopause, is a huge win for PPO and COPE Ontario. It may be the first language of its kind in Canada!
The agreement at Planned Parenthood Ottawa is, as COPE Ontario Labour Relations Specialist Geraldine McMullen notes, “one of the most progressive collective agreements passed in North America.”