Laid off long-term care workers to picket against employer’s quest to drive down working conditions

BOWMANVILLE, ON –/COMMUNITYWIRE/– Long-term care workers and community allies will be picketing in downtown Bowmanville on Wednesday afternoon as they face lay-offs amidst a pandemic.

Durham Christian Homes has built a new facility in Whitby to align with the government’s new long-term building design standards. But instead of honouring its collective agreement with Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 2225-06/12, the employer has chosen to lay-off the home’s workers and outsource the jobs of support staff at the new facility.

Nurses and personal support workers will be expected to re-apply for their jobs at the new location while housekeeping staff, dietary aides and other support staff will have no place at the new home.

Although the pandemic has shown the importance of stable working conditions to ensure appropriate care for vulnerable residents in nursing homes, Durham Christian Homes is looking to depress wages and working conditions.

“This is the exact opposite approach that we should be taking to make care better. It is not just about the bricks and mortar. It’s about the care. We are urging that both the physical building and the care, be built right from the start at the new home,” said Candace Rennick, CUPE Ontario’s Secretary-Treasurer.

She outlined the ways the employer’s practices will make the work less stable and lower paid. These include:

• Not honouring the current collective agreement should a worker transfer to the new home;
• Contracting out maintenance, dietary, housekeeping and laundry;
• Introducing wage freezes;
• Imposing claw backs on benefits and shift premiums;
• Bringing in sub-standard sick leave while a potential second wave of COVID may soon come.

Who:     Long-term care workers and community allies

What:    Protesting against lay-offs during a pandemic

Where: Temperance & King St., Bowmanville

When:   2:30 – 4:30 pm, Wednesday, October 21

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For more information, please contact:

Zaid Noorsumar, CUPE Communications, 647-995-9859