SURVEY: 72% OF PERSONAL SUPPORT WORKERS PREPARING TO LEAVE THE HOMECARE WORKFORCE BECAUSE OF HIGH GAS PRICES AND LOW PAY

Union calling on the Ontario government for emergency support to avert the exodus of PSWs and for employers to commit profits to extra costs for workers

RICHMOND HILL, ON, March 10, 2022 /CNW/ - SEIU Healthcare, the largest union in the homecare sector, is calling on Premier Ford for emergency support to avert the exodus of personal support workers (PSWs) after a survey of frontline workers shows that 72% are preparing to leave the workforce because homecare corporations fail to compensate employees for the extra cost of travel required to do their job. While gas prices have increased almost 70% in the past year, 90% of homecare workers have not been fully reimbursed for the price of gas needed to travel between clients.

"The temporary three-dollar wage enhancement is not working to retain PSWs," said Sharleen Stewart, president of SEIU Healthcare. "Ontario's homecare system is at risk of a real collapse with anything less than full-time jobs with benefits and significantly higher wages. This is an emergency and should be responded to as such by Premier Ford's government. We need urgent action and a plan that will actually work to avert the exodus of workers, otherwise homecare services are at risk for our most vulnerable."

SEIU Healthcare is also calling on homecare corporations like CarePartners and Extendicare's Paramed, which has seen their stock rise by eight per cent in the past twelve months and continue to pay out tens of millions in cash dividends to shareholders every quarter, to commit profits to make frontline workers whole for the cost incurred in travelling between homecare clients.

SURVEY RESULTS:

• 72% of workers indicate they will leave the workforce as a result of the failure to reimburse them for the higher cost of gas required to travel between homecare clients
• 90% of workers report the extra costs incurred at the pump have not been reimbursed by homecare corporations
• 90% of workers would prefer to continue serving in the homecare sector if full-time jobs, higher wages, and stronger benefits were the conditions of employment

SOURCE SEIU Healthcare

For media inquiries, contact: Corey Johnson, SEIU Healthcare, Director of Strategic Communications, 416-529-8909, [email protected]