Sunday, December 4, 2022

Retirement Home Campaign Exceeds Expectations

Retirement home workers in Ontario are not paid fairly for their work. They deserve better

In late 2022, after more than a month of pickets, petitions, and published op-eds, CLAC’s Make It Fair campaign garnered more than 1,000 signatures demanding that retirement home operators across the province immediately increase the wages of their workers. The signatures will be presented to retirement home operators, including Lifetimes Living and Caressant Care.

The result has smashed original expectations. It proves once again that the people of Ontario want more for those who take care of our most vulnerable populations.

The campaign also called on those employed by retirement homes or who have loved ones working for or residing in a home to share their stories. Here are comments from three Local 303 members employed as PSWs in three different retirement homes.

“Healthcare is in crisis,” says Patricia Gould, who works at Chartwell Oxford Gardens Retirement Residence in Woodstock. “It will only get worse for residents in retirement homes. Workers are not getting enough to keep up with the cost of living and are leaving the sector for other work, while some workers are burning out due to short-staffing issues. I love working in the retirement home sector and believe it’s only fair that we are paid as others in healthcare.”

“I absolutely love helping the elderly population with their activities of daily living,” says Casandra Gamble, who works at Tillsonburg Retirement Residence in Tillsonburg. “I love going to work, but even if I do a 70-hour week, my wages are not enough to support the increasing cost of living.”

“For the work my team and I do, we just don’t get paid enough,” says Lauren Slingerland, who works at Park Place Retirement Residence in Woodstock. “I leave work every day so overwhelmed and stressed.”

These are just a few of the many comments we received in support of the campaign from members and others.

“We are overwhelmed by the support we have received in response to our drive for fair wages in the retirement home sector,” says Trish Douma, regional director of the Chatham Member Centre. “Our members, and all those whose lives are touched by the difficult physical and emotional labour that these workers undertake each day, are undoubtedly heartened by this championing of their cause.”

Retirement Home Campaign Exceeds Expectations

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