Members of Unifor Local 127 held a rally in front of Riverview Gardens long-term care home to call on the provincial government to increase pay to all frontline workers in the industry.
Members of Unifor Local 127 held a Friday rally in front of Riverview Gardens long-term care home to call on the provincial government to increase pay to all front-line workers in the industry.
Unifor Local 127 president Jeff McFadden said the Chatham protest was just one of many rallies held across Ontario in May spearheaded by the union as a way to let the provincial government know all long-term care workers should get the same $3-an-hour pay hike that personal support workers received during the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the pandemic started, he said all front-line workers were called heroes, so “we’re trying to get the province to recognize that.”
McFadden said there are several front-line workers in long-term homes, including laundry, housekeeping, dietary staff and building services, who haven’t received that recognition.
“If they’re not here, our seniors are not getting taken care of,” McFadden said.
Personal support work Lisa McDougall, the Unifor unit chair at Riverview Gardens, said she’s hopeful the government will finally recognize it takes a total team effort to provide this care. Everyone working in long-term care deserves the same pay increase, she said.
“At the end of the day, some of our dietary staff feed mom and dad, some of our housekeepers feed mom and dad or porter them, or take them to activities,” she said. “They’re just as much a front-line worker as we are.”
McDougall said it is common for long-term care homes to be short staffed, requiring workers to shoulder extra shifts or additional duties, “but we all step up to the place.”
McDougall also argued a $3-per-hour wage increase would help retain staff in an industry that has been hemorrhaging workers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.