Local unions demand 'pandemic pay' increase for all frontline health care workers

A handful of local union representatives rallied outside of Sault MPP Ross Romano’s constituency office Monday, demanding pandemic-related pay increases for all frontline workers right across the board. 

In August, the Ontario government extended a wage increase for personal support workers brought in during the pandemic. The temporary $3-per-hour wage increase for workers in long-term care homes and similar facilities will now continue until Oct. 31.

But CUPE Local 4685 President Maria Church says that many frontline workers were excluded from the temporary wage increase.  

“They’ve just identified PSWs [personal support workers] in this raise, but we’re all health care workers. We are all by the bedside – and RPNs [registered practical nurses] especially, because RPNs have the responsibility of keeping a licence. We’ve identified that PSWs at the highest rate get 90 cents less than an RPN just starting out, and we have a licence to maintain,” said Church, whose union represents over 400 workers at FJ Davey Home. “We’re here to fight that injustice of the $3 raise that the Ford government has allotted to PSWs, and forgot everybody else - forgot RPNs, forgot dietary, forgot laundry. Forgot everybody that makes that home work.”

“We all work together, and that’s what we’re fighting for – the wage increase for all of us.”

Kelly Janes, vice president of Unifor Local 1359 – which represents nearly 2,000 health care workers in Sault Ste. Marie, Elliot Lake and Wawa – wants to see all frontline workers in health care receive the ‘pandemic pay’ increase retroactive to Oct. 1, 2020. 

“Listen, we really appreciate that they recognized the hard work that PSWs do, but retirement homes were left out of that, hospice workers were left out of that. It caused a lot of divisiveness, especially in work settings where it takes a team to work,” she said. 

The union wants the temporary pandemic pay wage increase to become permanent for personal support workers. 

“We’re fighting to keep that $3 enhancement pay permanent for PSWs,” said Janes. “I think that the big companies are going to stick with the one per cent [cap] and say well, that’s the pattern.”

“We believe that all healthcare workers deserved that enhancement pay. I mean, we couldn’t do the job without the rest of them.”

Unifor Local 1359 is also calling on the Ford government to repeal Bill 124. 

The legislation, enacted in 2019, limits per-year compensation increases – including salaries and benefits – to one per cent during three-year moderation periods.

- with files from The Canadian Press and BayToday