Program will give essential care workers a pay boost

Thousands of essential workers at Saskatchewan’s seniors homes, daycares and shelters will get a $400-per-month pay boost, thanks to a cost-shared program predominantly funded by Ottawa.

Saskatchewan piggybacked on the federal funding by pitching in about $3 million out of a total cost of roughly $56 million.

Workers making less than $2,500 per month will get the $400 top up as a flat payment every month for up to 16 weeks. The money is available retroactively to March 15. About 35,000 workers, both full and part time, are expected to qualify.

Essential workers in the following facilities are eligible: senior-care facilities, including private care homes and home care; licensed childcare facilities; group homes run by community-based organizations; and emergency shelters and transition shelters.

Premier Scott Moe said the program is meant to recognize those caring for the province’s most vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. That includes cooks and cleaners at those facilities, as well as care workers who are left with the added burden of supporting residents who can’t see their families during the pandemic.

“I want to thank them for the care that they’re providing our family members,” Moe said while announcing the support on Thursday.

The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) welcomed the program in broad strokes, but noted it simply highlights how paltry wages are in vital sectors.

“The wage supplement announced today by the provincial government is a much deserved recognition of the pivotal work being done by lower income workers in senior-care, group homes, childcare facilities, and emergency and transition shelters,” said a statement from SFL president Lori Johb.

But she said it’s also an admission that such workers are “drastically underpaid.” Johb argued that the supplement should be permanent, and expanded to other sectors.

“Our frontline heroes who are out there making deliveries or working in grocery stores, for example, also need the value of their work properly recognized,” said Job.

Finance Minister Donna Harpauer noted that some private-sector employers have already hiked wages during the pandemic. She warned that including private-sector workers would significantly increase the cost of the program.

“When you start to expand it into the entire private sector, retail or otherwise, then you’re looking at double or triple the numbers of employees,” she said.

Also on Thursday, Moe’s government announced measures to increase access to childcare for workers covered by phases 1 and 2 of his Re-open Saskatchewan plan. Moe said they will have access to licensed daycare spaces in schools that were previously reserved for essential workers.