Thursday, February 25, 2021

Will Healthcare Workers Get a Raise?

In a year where words like bubble took on new meaning, and social distancing became a much more widely used phrase, terms like essential worker and healthcare hero have lost their shine for many CLAC members working in healthcare

What is the government doing about the healthcare worker shortage, especially in long term care (LTC) and homecare? is a common question with a very strange answer. The government insists that part of the solution is to lower wages for all public sector workers, including healthcare workers.

Yes, that is the essence of its refusal to give ground on Bill 124. By capping healthcare worker wages at one percent per year for three years, healthcare workers will receive less than inflationary wage increases, resulting in a decline in real earnings.

And that continues to be the government’s plan as recently as last month, when we reported on its refusal to exempt the LTC sector, where the 1 percent cap only applies to the 24 percent of homes that are nonprofit. In that sector, keeping the wages a little lower in 24 percent of the homes will do nothing to save the government money because the costs to the government remain the same either way.

The government will still provide the same funding. It is the homes that pay the wages. If the government won’t even fix the obviously ill-conceived application of Bill 124 to the LTC sector, they are definitely not going to end it for anyone else. Not unless their view of what is needed for reelection changes.

You would think a clear, rational explanation of the problem and helpful suggestions for a solution would move the government to act. CLAC tried this approach for the LTC sector last March when we contributed to the LTC Staffing Study being run by the current government—and which started prior to the pandemic.

It was gratifying to have the results of the staffing study affirm all of the concerns we raised, and we were pleased that it recommended the immediate implementation of four hours of hands-on care per resident per day.

It was equally gratifying when we participated in continued government consultations last fall regarding how to define hands-on care, and they remembered our previously expressed concerns and confirmed that they would define hands-on care as the work done by PSWs, RPNs, and RNs in the home going in and out of resident rooms every day.

But then they announced it last December as a five-year plan.

Right now, when government officials are preparing the budget for 2021-2022, is the time for them to hear that people think healthcare workers need a raise, not caps on their wage increases. They need to hear that funding for higher staffing levels needs to happen immediately, not five years from now.

If you agree, please write another letter to Doug Ford and your MPP. Letters written to MPPs matter.

So do trending issues on social media, so feel free to use platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to your advantage. If you can stay safe and still be vocal on social media, go for it.

Look for people like Pat Armstrong and groups like Doctors for Justice in LTC and amplify their voices. But don’t comment directly on your workplace, or name any individual from your workplace.

CLAC’s submission to the budget planning process included a request to end Bill 124, and increase wages for healthcare workers. We will continue to do everything we can to get the government to take the action necessary to bring stability back to the healthcare sector, and improving the working conditions for the people who need better working conditions to provide better care.

Will Healthcare Workers Get a Raise?

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