TORONTO, ON. – As the second wave of COVID-19 makes staffing a critical issue in long-term care homes, the Canadian Union of Public Employees is urging the Ontario legislature to pass Bill 13, the Time to Care Act. The proposed legislation passed second reading today but must go through a third and final reading before…
TORONTO, ON – CUPE Ontario, SEIU Healthcare and Unifor held a joint press conference on Tuesday morning, calling on the Ontario government to legislate a minimum care standard of four hours of hands-on care in long-term care homes by immediately passing Bill 13, the Time to Care Act. Based on the latest pre-pandemic calculations by…
TORONTO, ON – Ontario’s Long-Term COVID-19 Commission released an interim report today, calling on the government to implement a minimum daily care standard of four hours of hands-on care per resident. “We thank the commission for their work and for recognizing the need to institute a staffing standard,” said Candace Rennick, CUPE Ontario’s Secretary-Treasurer. “Residents…
TORONTO, ON. – Despite the Ontario government’s promises to deal with the crisis in staffing in long-term care, 94% of the workplace leaders of the 200 long-term care facilities represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) polled this week report that the situation has actually worsened. Ontario had the country’s lowest staff-to-long-term care…
TORONTO, ON – The Ontario New Democratic Party’s (ONDP) plan to deliver a public and non-profit home care and long-term care system is the “comprehensive vision Ontarians need”, says the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario. CUPE Ontario, which represents more than 60,000 health care workers in Long-Term Care, Community Home Care and Hospitals,…
OCHU-CUPE, SEIU and Unifor sued the Ontario government over the refusal to give the N-95 mask to our members working in vicinity of suspect, probable or actual COVID-19 patients/residents. The government has resolved that court case by amending Directive 5 in ways that significantly improve healthcare workers’ rights to PPE during COVID-19. Workers have the…
TORONTO – Today the Chief Medical Officer of Health issued Directive #5, which provides clear guidance that N-95 or superior protection masks, face shields and other equipment are to be provided to health care staff working on the front line in long-term care facilities or hospitals dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks, among other improvements. “The updated…
(TORONTO, ON) The Ontario government’s temporary wage increase for personal support workers is a step in the right direction but much more needs to be done, says the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario and the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU). Personal support workers (PSW) in the home and community care, long-term care,…
October 1, 2020 is the International Day of Older Persons. Today, we are mindful of the toll taken by COVID-19 on retirees, long-term care residents, and all older people. We call on all levels of government to ensure their health and safety, end the failed experiment of for-profit long-term care, and ensure universal accessibility to…
(Toronto, ON) —The Throne Speech promises criminal charges for those who neglect seniors, but receding federal funding is a major driver of the understaffing and neglect in long-term care facilities, reports the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario and the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU)/CUPE. “We call for the federal government to be…
