Hospital worker protests to escalate
With contract negotiations set to resume later this month, hospital workers from Niagara and across the province are ramping up efforts to put pressure on the Ontario Hospital Association.
In the first of a series of escalating actions planned by an alliance of hospital unions, as many as 75,000 workers from about 160 hospitals across the province will wear stickers as they do their jobs on Wednesday, with Together for Respect written on them.
SEIU Healthcare president Sharleen Stewart — who represents more than 2,000 Niagara hospital employees — said the stickers that will adorn uniforms of hospital workers are a subtle way of protesting the apparent lack of respect OHA negotiators have for registered practical nurses, personal support workers, porters and dietary, administrative and trades staff who have been without contracts since last fall.
“Ontario hospital staff are tired of being disrespected, but they are limited in the ways they can speak up about it. Our members are excited to wear their stickers and show that they have come together for a common cause, which is to gain the respect they deserve,” she said.
The protests are the result of an unprecedented alliance between Service Employees International Union Healthcare, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and Unifor, who teamed up after hitting similar stumbling blocks during their independent negotiations with OHA.
The union says OHA, which co-ordinates and leads negotiations on behalf of Ontario hospitals, has asked for concessions from workers, offered sub-par wages and refused to address the growing issue of workplace violence in hospitals across the province.
Meanwhile, television and radio advertising campaigns that started Monday describe dangerous overcrowding, chronic under staffing and a “growing epidemic of violent assaults” within Ontario’s hospitals.
Negotiations are tentatively set to resume between OHA and all three unions in two weeks, with the assistance of a mediator.
In an email, Niagara Health executive vice-president of people and organizational development Flo Paladino said local bargaining issues between Niagara Health and SEIU were resolved earlier this year.
“There are a limited number of issues that extend across multiple hospitals, and SEIU has referred these issues to arbitration for resolution,” she said. “We remain committed to working closely with all our team members and union partners for a healthier Niagara.”
Paladino said local hospital administration also appreciates the “dedication to our patients, staff, physicians and volunteers” of the SEIU members it employs.
While the recent provincial budget included significant funding increases for Ontario hospitals — $822 million in additional funding over the next two years — Stewart said the unions are waiting to see if any of that money will be used to address their concerns.