Long-term care staff will rally today for increased funding at office of Hon. Ted McMeekin, as care reductions hit Cama Woodlands in Hamilton

HAMILTON, ON, Sept. 16, 2015 /CNW/ - Long-term care and hospital staff represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees will rally at 4:30 p.m. today at the office of the Hon. Ted McMeekin, M.P.P. and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Mr. McMeekin's constituency office is located at 299 Dundas Street East in Waterdown.

" Long term care facilities in Ontario were funded at the lowest level of any province in Canada, before the provincial government imposed its freeze on these facilities and the residents in them. " said Heather Neiser, president of the CUPE local which represents staff at a number of Hamilton institutions, including St. Joseph's Long-term care and Cama Woodlands. " 4 years of Liberal government austerity have left residents whose care needs have increased significantly, with fewer staff- it's a situation that can't continue," said Ms. Neiser.

" Cama Woodlands has cut staff and it is entirely representative of a terrible trend. Residents who previously would have stayed in a hospital like St. Peter's have been moved into long term care and despite having vastly more complex conditions than residents did in long term care 10 years ago, staffing hours are actually being cut," said Michael Hurley, President of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions/CUPE. " We are protesting to demand a real increase in funding for long term care."

The Liberals dropped the corporate income tax rate to one of the lowest in North America, and economists estimate that the province has lost nearly $20 billion in revenue. This drop in tax revenue triggered austerity in provincial expenditures.

SOURCE Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (CUPE)

Heather Neiser, President, CUPE Local 1404: 905-977-0039; Michael Hurley, President, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions: 416-884-0770; Stella Yeadon, CUPE Communications: 416-559-9300