Ontario Must Address Long-Term Care Staffing Crisis As Cases Surge: Unions

Candace Rennick, secretary-treasurer of Canadian Union of Public Employees Ontario, noted there is currently a private member’s bill in the Ontario legislature that would increase the hours of care a resident receives each day to four — also a recommendation from the province’s staffing study. “If the government is serious about staffing in this province, they could…

Problems in Ontario long-term care homes need fixing now, PSWs and unions tell province

Personal support workers and their unions are calling on the province to fix problems in long-term care homes now before an expected resurgence of COVID-19 cases this fall. Representatives of CUPE Ontario, SEIU Healthcare and Unifor said on Monday that the homes need adequate funding, increases in staffing to ensure there are “realistic” ratios of workers to residents,…

‘Start acting and stop chatting so much:’ Unions tell Ford to take action to protect long-term care homes ahead of second wave

“Clearly we have learned nothing from the first wave of this virus and residents and staff are again at risk of losing their lives,” CUPE Ontario Secretary-Treasurer Candace Rennick said during the news conference. “It is unconscionable and completely unacceptable. We cannot stand by and allow one more avoidable death or illness. Today we need…

“This is Premier Ford’s second chance to take action in long-term care”: SEIU Healthcare, CUPE Ontario, and Unifor continue to ring the alarm bells

TORONTO – Unions representing health care workers across Ontario held a press conference urging immediate action to end the crisis in long-term care. CUPE Ontario, SEIU Healthcare, and Unifor, unions which collectively represent more than 70,000 long-term care workers, are condemning the inaction of the Government of Ontario and are raising concerns about the significant…

SEIU Healthcare, CUPE Ontario, and Unifor hold media conference to continue the call for immediate action in long-term care

TORONTO, ON – SEIU Healthcare, CUPE Ontario, and Unifor, unions that represent health care workers across long-term care, are urging immediate action to end the crisis in the sector. The unions are highlighting their joint “Care Not Profits” advocacy campaign, which calls on Premier Ford to end for-profit senior care; worsening conditions of employment for front-line…

YCDSB aggravating fallout from COVID by closing school libraries and laying off workers

MARKHAM, ON – Education workers throughout Ontario are condemning the decision by York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB) and its trustees to shutter its school libraries and lay off all its library technicians, slamming the move as a short-sighted one that will hurt students’ ability to recover from the learning losses incurred during the months…