65,000 Ontario hospital workers awarded 6% wage increase, benefit improvements in new contract

TORONTO – 65,000 Ontario hospital workers represented by the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions – CUPE (OCHU-CUPE) and SEIU Healthcare will see a 6% wage increase (3% wage increases in each of the next two years), improvements to health and dental benefits, enhancements to weekend, evening, and night premiums, and pay for periods of quarantine…

CUPE’s hospital members adopt strong mandate to defend the quality of patient care

TORONTO – Hospital and long-term care workers represented by Ontario’s largest hospital union elected a new executive board on April 11 with a strong mandate to fight back against the government’s policies of underfunding and the privatization of surgeries and diagnostics. Michael Hurley and Sharon Richer were acclaimed as the president and secretary-treasurer of CUPE’s…

“Just enough funding to maintain a perpetual crisis in hospital care:” union laments provincial budget

TORONTO – The increase in hospital funding announced yesterday is not enough to ease the hospital crisis and will actually cause further deterioration, says CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU-CUPE). “It doesn’t keep up with hospital inflationary pressures (of 5.6 per cent) let alone the pressures of an aging and growing population, even as…

Ford government must increase hospital funding by at least 8 per cent to ease the staffing and capacity crisis – hospital union

TORONTO – Annual funding for Ontario’s hospitals must increase by at least eight per cent in this year’s budget to address the staffing and capacity crisis linked to ER closures, overcrowded hospitals, and delayed surgeries and diagnostic procedures, says CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU-CUPE). “Ontario’s hospital staff and patients can’t cope with another…

Hospital workers protest “cuts and chaos” at Lakeridge Health, blame Ford government for underfunding

OSHAWA, ON – CUPE 6364 workers at Lakeridge Health rallied in Oshawa today, protesting “cuts and chaos” in response to provincial underfunding of hospitals. According to the union, hospital management has been eliminating full-time housekeeping and clerical positions, and overloading other workers with additional responsibilities. “This is shameful behavior by hospital management, to cut staff…

“Ford’s attack on women’s wages”: new report shows real dollar wage cuts in public sector have widened gender pay gap in Ontario

TORONTO – A new research report shows that the Ford government’s policies have led to real dollar wage cuts for the predominantly female workforce in the broader public sector, negatively impacting Ontario’s gender pay gap. The report, Women’s Wages and the attack on broader public sector workers, released today by CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital…

OCHU-CUPE, SEIU Healthcare and Unifor statement on Bill 124 ruling: “This is a win for all hardworking families; time for Ford to address health care crisis”

TORONTO – Michael Hurley, president of CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU-CUPE); Sharleen Stewart, president of SEIU Healthcare; and Kelly-Anne Orr, assistant to the national officers of Unifor released the following joint statement today in response to the Ontario Court of Appeal ruling on Bill 124: “We are pleased to see the Ontario Court…

88% of Northern Ontario hospital workers not confident about Ford government’s health sector plan, 49% considering leaving: new poll

SUDBURY, ON – A new poll paints a grim picture about the staffing crisis in Northern Ontario hospitals, as 90 per cent of workers say there are not enough staff to provide high quality patient care, and nearly half are contemplating leaving their jobs within the next year amidst high stress levels, exhaustion, and anxiety.…

85% of Hamilton hospital workers not confident about Ford government’s health sector plan, 44% considering leaving: new poll

Hamilton, ON – A new poll paints a grim picture about the staffing crisis in Hamilton’s hospitals, as 85 per cent of workers say they are not confident in this government’s plan to improve the sector and 44 per cent are considering quitting their jobs. The polling firm Nanos Research surveyed more than 750 hospital…