“Shocking,” “appalling,” “offensive” and “disappointing” are just some of the words critics are using to describe the Ontario government’s latest plan to train personal support workers (PSWs) in the province. “Their lethargy is profound…delaying training and recruitment. In the meantime nearly 4,000 residents have died in long-term care in the last year,” said Candace Rennick,…
MISSISSAUGA, ON – Despite a provincial order saying they have a right to ask for the N95 masks and get one when dealing with a suspected or presumed case of COVID-19, Peel long-term care staff are still being denied access to them, the union representing 900 front-line staff at four Peel Region municipal homes says.…
TORONTO, ON – Toronto’s prestigious University Health Network (UHN) is exploiting personal support workers (PSWs), nurses and other health staff at their satellite hospital the Hillcrest Reactivation Centre, charged several PSWs who spoke publicly for the first time about their dismal pay and back-breaking working conditions. The three PSWs described their gruelling workloads, constant understaffing,…
TORONTO, ON – Full-time clerical workers at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto have voted to join Canada’s largest healthcare union, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). The ballot count was delayed for more than three months by technical objections from the group’s former bargaining agent, NOWU. Finally, on February 8, the Ontario Labour Relations…
Ottawa, ON – There should be one set of rules that apply to all hospital staff said the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) today in calling out the CEO of the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre (ROMHC) for her silence on the storm over the approval of international travel and paid quarantine for a…
TORONTO, ON. – Today the Ontario government took a giant step in acknowledging that COVID-19 is an airborne virus by announcing they are investing in an “airborne COVID-19 detector”, says the Canadian Union of Public Employees. CEM Specialties Inc. (CEMSI) will get $2 million through the Ontario Together Fund to help commercialize and accelerate production…
Toronto, ON — Members of CUPE Local 4891, which represents workers at Regeneration Community Services, have responded to the employer’s attempt to impose a three-year wage and benefit freeze by voting 92% in favor of striking if necessary. “After the appointment of a conciliation officer and months of talks, our employer continues to insist on…
TORONTO, ON. – Even before the new COVID-19 variants hit Ontario, health care worker infections were dangerously high, doubling in the last three months to over 16,000, the Ontario government’s own data shows. In 2020 for the first 10 months of the pandemic to October 23, 7,488 health care staff contracted COVID-19 at work. In…
KINGSTON, ON – Staff morale is low – stress high at Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC), nearly a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said today. Following months of gruelling long hours, critical staff shortages and an environment where there is no pay for staff who have to isolate…
Last night, CUPE Ontario held a Town Hall Call on the COVID-19 vaccine. Guest Panelist and infectious disease expert Dr. Tara Moriarty from the University of Toronto noted the following: 1) If you’re a Canadian who would like to ATTEND our nightly Zoom sessions about COVID-19 vaccine safety, please sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdrp0-GkyZS1Oe4cu4T7F6t1xdumCr9HmWo5dUwAYaRaw0AWw/viewform 2) If you’d like to request a special…
