Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Hope for Healthcare Members in 2021

Positive changes are finally beginning to happen for beleaguered members working in healthcare

By Ian DeWaard, Ontario Director

Is it over yet? Recent news of two, and possibly three, vaccines that will be deployed in the new year are cause for much hope—and that’s something sorely needed as the province plummets ever deeper into the second wave of COVID-19.

Recently, at a virtual meeting with members from across the province, I had the opportunity to offer heartfelt thanks and admiration and explain how your work has given hope to the union’s members and staff. Like the prospective vaccines, your work and self sacrifice is something that buoys our spirit.

We can’t be there with you in person, but we’ve had a front-row seat to the exhausting, stress-inducing conditions that you work in. We can’t remove the burden that you’re asked to bear, but your bravery has encouraged and inspired CLAC.

In appreciation, and to the best of our ability, we’re trying to be strong, present, informed, and supportive of you, as you face ever-changing and complex working conditions.

We’ve had to kick back against unreasonable demands by some employers, even while substantial parts of our collective agreements have been suspended.

We’ve also been working hard to advance your issues, your ideas, and your concerns to the policy and decision makers in the province. And I’m happy to report that we’ve made headway on the following seven fronts:

Four-hour standard of care – After years of lobbying, third-party reports, and commissions, Ontario will finally introduce a daily standard of care of four hours. The definition for care hours is “nursing and personal care,” and we’re told that this will be measured as hours worked by front-line PSWs and registered nursing staff. Recently, CLAC met with the parliamentary assistant to the minister of long-term care who asked for the advice of our members on how to best implement and enforce this new standard of care.
Staffing strategy – CLAC presented a written and in-person submission to the minister of long-term care’s Long Term Care Staffing Strategy Advisory Group. The group’s final report, issued in October, calls for increased staff, better training, and better wages.
WSIB in retirement homes – The province commissioned a review of WSIB in 2019, and the final report was issued in November 2020. The report makes specific mention of CLAC’s contribution to the review, and most importantly recommends that WSIB be extended to workers in retirement homes and group homes. Until now, these members have been exempt from WSIB coverage. But as COVID has demonstrated, they are exposed to unreasonable risk of income loss due to workplace illness or injury. CLAC has met with the minister of labour recently to reinforce the importance of extending WSIB to all front-line healthcare workers.
Support for our Healthcare Heroes campaign – With the help of members and the public, CLAC launched a very public effort to call on the province to make pandemic pay permanent, to limit the use of emergency orders to times of outbreak, and to repeal Bill 124’s wage caps for healthcare workers. The campaign resulted in over 3,100 letters being sent to the premier, ministers of health and long-term care, and local MPPs.
Retirement home petitions – In the for-profit retirement home sector, CLAC launched individual petition campaigns calling on owners to also incorporate long term and meaningful wage adjustment.
Convention resolution – At its National Convention on October 8, 2020, CLAC delegates from across the country gathered and heard about the challenges members working in Ontario’s healthcare sector face. Those delegates corralled the voices of CLAC’s 60,000 members by calling on the province to fix the healthcare staffing crisis and to implement real and lasting reform to the healthcare sector.
2020 budget – Building on the momentum of these various campaigns, CLAC made oral and written submission to the minister of finance, highlighting the key and pressing issues of a sector in crisis. One item that we’re particularly happy about is that the province will make it possible for future PSWs to be able to work while they learn, making PSW certification faster and more affordable.

While we can’t be with you in person, it is a privilege to stand by you as we work to give voice to your concerns both at the local workplace level, and also where public policy is shaped and formed. As we begin 2021, we’re optimistic that positive changes are finally beginning to happen for you and your fellow members working in healthcare.

Hope for Healthcare Members in 2021

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