The unions representing health care workers across Ontario are accusing Premier Doug Ford of using “band-aid pay-as-you-vote gimmicks” to address the province’s nurse shortage.
The provincial government announced on Monday that it would be providing Ontario nurses with a retention incentive of up to $5,000, in an effort to retain nurses across the health sector. The government plans to provide up to $5,000 for eligible full-time nurses and a prorated payment of up to $5,000 for eligible part-time and casual nursing staff.
Representing 220,000 healthcare workers across Ontario, SEIU Healthcare, OCHU/CUPE, Unifor, and the Ontario Nurses’ Association panned the move as an “election gimmick.”
“A one-time $5,000 payment won’t work to retain and recruit nurses who are asking long-term predictability and support,” the unions said in a joint news release. “Our unions have consistently urged the premier to ensure that any retention bonus is inclusive of all front-line nurses and healthcare workers. Unfortunately, he chose to ignore the needs of the broader healthcare workforce who are feeling further demoralized because of this exclusionary retention bonus.”
The Ontario government, however, said it has launched emergency programs that have added over 8,450 health care professionals to the health care sector since March 2020.
“Healthcare workers don’t need more of Premier Ford’s bumper sticker election gimmicks, they need a plan that works to fix the real problems that undermine our public healthcare system, including the immediate repeal of Bill 124,” said SEIU Healthcare President Sharleen Stewart.
In 2019, the province passed Bill 124, which limits wage increases for nurses to a maximum of 1 per cent for three years.
