PSWs at Victoria Manor excluded from round two of pandemic pay
Personal support workers (PSWs) at Victoria Manor in Hamilton have been cut out from the latest round of pandemic pay introduced by the province, despite working during the second and third COVID-19 waves.
A letter from the Ontario ombudsman's office in response to a complaint from a worker at the manor confirmed PSWs in that facility are not eligible for the current wage increase.
While workers in long-term care, home and community care, public hospitals and children, community and social services are eligible for the program, those working in residential care facilities - often serving low income individuals who need support for mental and physical health problems, addictions, or other needs - across the province are not.
Personal support workers in residential care homes have been on the front lines of the pandemic, putting their own health at risk to support the well-being of others," said Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, whose office released the letter.
In a release, Horwath, who is MPP for Hamilton Centre, called the temporary pay increase already less than the bare minimum."
(Ford's) choice to save money by excluding thousands of PSWs and other health-care workers across the province is deeply concerning, and seriously unfair," she said.
The previous pay top-up included residential support staff who worked from April 24 to Aug. 13, 2020. After that, Ford introduced a second program that is due to end Aug. 23.
The initial pandemic pay top-up was $4 an hour, while the second round is $2 or $3 an hour, depending on the sector.
The current temporary wage increase program is smaller in scope than the pandemic pay program," read the letter from the Ombudsman's office.
Victoria Manor is not an eligible workplace under the current program," it adds, noting the facility was eligible in the previous top-up.
Earlier this year, the Martino-owned Victoria Manor had an outbreak with 24 cases.
More to come ...
Maria Iqbal is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator covering aging. Reach her via email: miqbal@thespec.com.