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Day carehikoes will segregate children Provincial regulations requiring the region to charge parents $5 more a day for day care ser- vices by next Sepember are pricing the region "right out of the market" and will probably turn regional day care centres into "ghettoes", said the region's commissioner of Social Services last week. "We're pricing our- selves out of- business. At $24 a day, if you have two children that's $48 a day - $240 a week for day care. That's a lot of mnoney brother and the average guy is going to say no way," said Doug Johns on Thursday. As mnany as 95 percent of the children in regional day care facilities are covered by government subsidies according to Mr. Johns who fears that the in- creased rate will drive the service to take their business elsewhere. "If we have a situation where ail the kids are subsidized, Sec paige 6 Vol. 15, No. 52 Mnday, December 23., 1985 4OPages Merry OTimes The highlight of the Quest school trip to Cullen Gardens last week proved not to be the Christ- mas decorations or the miniature village, but this snowy slope tumbled down with gay abandon by the entire junior kindergarteri class. Above, are five of the more "riotous" tumblers. Wel! are nurnbers down !or November The number of people collecting welfare in Durham Region bet- ween the months of Oc- tober and November declined for the first ime since 1976, accor- ding to the region's Commissioner of Social Services. In a report submitted to Regional Council last week, Commissioner Doug Johns indicated that the number of during the month of November had decreased by 0.9 per- cent compared to the previous month an.d by a full 20.9 percent over the same period in 1984. Ac- cording Lo Whitby Regional Councillor Tom Edwards, the declining numbers are a clear indication that things are going well for See page 12 flegiciâdelfflnwve Five Wse "ersons" The wise men In Cullen Gardons Nativity Scene looked ào real it wasn't until Amanda *and Crystal Tucker climbed into the manger and touched them that they realized the figures were made of plaster. 'The two sisters were visiting Cullen Gardens last week wlth thei r great-g rand parents. Unioon criticizeS PAW take-rover By SUSAN LESJAK Free Press Staff While the Pickering- Ajax-Whitby (PAW) animal control commit- tee prepares to ake over he operation of the Thickson Rd. animal shelter, the unionized employees who work there are gearing up to fight for their jobs. AIl 12 employa«s - 6 Ail 12 employees - six fuli-time and six part- ime - stand to lose their jobs Jan. 1 when the hree municipalities take over the shelter from the Ontario Humane Society which has been operating iL for the past 20 years. The committace an- nounced last week that iL was erminating is contract with the society and that iL would hire five people on in- dividual contracts to run the shelter. The announcement came as somewhat of a surprise Lo the shelter employees who say hey were neyer consulted about the contract take- over by the PAW com- mittee. "Everything we know, we've learned through the press," said Jim Woodward, national representative for the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the union Lo which he employees belong. "The politicians who sit on the PAW commit- tee should have had the decency to notify the union of i s plans - good labor relaions deman- ded that hey caîl us in." Ross Batten, chair- man of the PAW com- mitee, cdaims, however, thaL the municipalities have no responsibiliLy towards the workers. "Those employees are not the employees of thé municipalities - hey're employees of the On- tario Humane Society," he reiterated several imes throughout he course of a telephone in- terview.. Woodward sees iL dif- ferently. According Lo him, the union is en- titled to "successor rights" under the Labor Relations Act and therefore, the 12 humane society em- ployees now belong Lu the municipalities. 'lWe maintain that if they take over the con- tract, hey ake over the collective agreemnent.11 In accordance with this position, CUPE Local 53 has served notice Lo bargain for a 1986 contract Lo alIl hree munficipalities. Failure on the part of negotiate with the union could lead to labor board hearing, warned Woodward. Asked how solid a case Woodward felt the union had, he responded by saying, "there are alI kinds of cases where the union has successfully argued successor rights." The CUPE represen- tative interprets the committee's refusaI to deal with the union as an attempt "to circumvent the collective agreement" and hire non-union workers. The tactic irritates hlm since the shelter's current employees, who earn $771 an houri are already the lowest paid animal care workers in the Durham area. Whitby regional count- cillor Tom Edwards agrees that the shelter treated properly - by either the humane society or the PAW committee. "I don't know whether we have a legal obligation towards these 12 employees. but 1 think we have a moral one," he said in a elephone interview Thursday. Edwards said further that the position the union was taking was "ýpretty reasonable" and accused the three municipalities of not dealing honestly with the employees. If jobs have to be cut. he argued. the remaining positions three fuil-time and two part-time) should be filled by the current staff on the basis of seniority. Sec 1)zige 7 on pay equit) Until the province establishes clear guidelines on how municipalities are Lo establish pay equity among heir employees, Durham Regional Council bas opted Lo delay addressing any inequities that might exîst in the region's own payroll. Council directed iLs Management Commit- tee last week to monitor the province's progress on equal-pay-fpr-work- of-equal-value wlegisia- ion despite an~ earlier staff recommendation urging that the region establish a job evaluation program Lo ry and reduce the im- pact of the legisiation once iL is passed. *According to Whitby Mayor Bob Attersley. the province will have to provide the municipality with specific indications of what is in order before council cao seriously begin to address the problem. -This is something that is going Lo have to be looked at before we can deal with i," said the Mayor on Thursday. Mayor Attersley an- ticipated iL would be a while before the provin- ce actually passes the legislation -and he thought the region would have plenty of ime Lo make the necessary adjustments. Mayor Attersley said he is bothered by the fact that the province seems to be aiming is legislation aI achieving pay equity only for women and he would not support the -bill unless Queen's Park broadened iLs terms. "Black, white, ethnie, female gender, male gender ... -it's the qualifications that should determine the pay. I'm not prepared to support this unless it's total equity based on qualifications," said Mayor Attersley. Whitby Regional Couricillor Tom Edwar- ds agrees that establishing pay equity at the region will be a complicated task but he is not happy with coun- cil's decision Lo hold off taking any action. "It's an-expensive, lengthy and difficult process - one that's fraught with all kinds of difficulties but I think we've got to begin doing something about it now. 1 agree that we shouldn'L go rushing in- to iL but I tbink we better ake a look at this before we're compelled to by a senior level of gover- nment. Can you imagine how émbarrassing it would be for the municipality to be told to geL in line?& We're supposed to set an example in these hings," said Mr. Ed- wards. The region should begin now Lo ry and identify any anomulies in its pay schedule, ac- cording to the coun- cillor. While the provin- ce bas not yet handed down any clear guidelines. he said there are job evaluation schemes that have already been established and which could serve as a model Sec page 6 1