Premier Doug Ford’s government should “urgently” hire new nurses and front-line workers to give long-term-care residents the four hours of daily care they need, a long-awaited staffing report says. Staffing is critical to creating a higher quality of life and care for residents,” the Long-Term Care Staffing Study Report concluded. It was released on Thursday…
Laura Walton, who heads CUPE’s school bargaining unit, said the amount the union recommends is a 2.1 per cent increase in education spending for the upcoming school year, and is the minimum needed. It is based on lessons learned from CUPE workers in other sectors who have continued working during the pandemic, she added. “We…
Droves of hospital workers gathered outside the Cornwall Community Hospital protesting, what they believe is, a violation of their workplace rights. They were concerned about Bill 195, which is being considered in the legislature. The Canadian Union of Public Employees states the bill would lay workers off, force shift changes with no notice and move…
The secretary-treasurer of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (Ontario) said surgical masks are now widely available in long-term care homes, but superior N95s are not. “The N95 still are almost impossible to get based on the feedback that we’ve been getting, they continue to remain under lock and key,” Candace Rennick said. The union,…
Members of CUPE Local 1623, representing various local hospital workers, take part in a rally on Paris Street near the entrance to Health Sciences North in Sudbury, Ont. on Friday July 17, 2020. The protest was part of province-wide rallies held to put pressure on the Ontario government to “restore basic workplace rights suspended for…
Exposure to COVID-19 is a non-negotiable fact of life for many immigrant and visible minority residents in Ottawa. Take a look at the pandemic-era essential workforce: those supporting the food supply chain, providing taxi or ride-share services, or caring for residents in long-term care homes. Every day, Abiola Tijani goes into work knowing that his…
The union representing nearly 300,000 public and essential employees including personal support workers in Ontario’s long-term care homes, says members can’t afford to stay home. Physical distancing won’t pay the bills. And it’s also not always possible. Fred Hahn, President of CUPE Ontario says: “People have to stitch together two and three jobs just to…
There are increasing calls for the Ontario government to declare anti-Black racism a public health crisis. “Anti-Black racism has undeniably harmful effects on Black Ontarians,” CUPE Ontario president Fred Hahn said in a statement on Wednesday. “We need to name what happens to Black people when it comes to policing, workplace discrimination, the stress it…
One of the largest unions in the province is calling on the Ontario government to declare anti-Black racism a public health crisis. The Ontario division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents 270,000 employees in the province, said it is joining a coalition of Black community health leaders, including Alliance for Healthier Communities,…
“Ontario’s for-profit nursing homes employ, on average, 17 per cent fewer full-time and part-time workers compared to non-profit and municipal homes, according to a Star analysis of union staffing data. “It’s not surprising at all,” said Candace Rennick, a spokesperson for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents workers in 182 long-term-care homes…
