Pandemic pay increase on its way to workers: Oosterhoff
Niagara West MPP won’t support nurses’ request to repeal wage cap
It took weeks longer than anticipated, but Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff says temporary pay bonuses should soon be on their way to front-line workers.
Oosterhoff said he cautiously suspects that 375,000 frontline health-care workers in Niagara and across the province should start seeing those temporary $4 hourly pandemic wage increases within the next few weeks.
“I’m told the (finance) minister signed over 500 different transfer payment agreements personally on this, because they had to work out transfer payment agreements with each individual congregate care setting,” he said. “That’s my understanding of how it was delayed. But the money should be on its way.
“But we’ll wait and see when it actually arrives.”
Oosterhoff said the delay in releasing the funds was because of the complexity of the initiative, with hundreds of industry partners involved. “There were quite complicated agreements that had to be worked on in addition to the regular agreements. They (Treasury Board staff ) had to pretty much create them from scratch so it took longer than anticipated, but it should be on its way.”
The wage increase applies to non-management staff, including people working in publicly funded hospitals, home and community care settings, longterm-care and retirement homes, social services, paramedics, public health workers and correctional facility staff.
Personal support workers, too, will be getting the pandemic pay adjustments.
Home Care Ontario chief executive officer Sue Vanderbent said Thursday she was informed the pandemic pay “was imminent” for the home care workers and PSWS she represents.
The additional funding, she added, will be transferred to Ontario’s Local Health Integration Networks and then divvied up to various employers before added to paycheques.
“It’s very slow from our
perspective because our staff are looking for that help. It has been promised to them publicly many times, but our staff don’t understand what the delay is,” she said.
“Everybody is very anxious about this. We are asking questions everyday. We’re waiting to get the good news that the money has at least left Queen’s Park … We’d love to hear that the cheque’s in the mail.”
Despite speculation that a three-year, one per cent cap on wage increases for public sector employees including nurses may have contributed to delays in issuing the pandemic pay, Oosterhoff said that was not the case.
“The legislation is clear that Ontario’s public sector employees are still able to retain salary increases that exceed one per cent for seniority, performance or increased qualifications, and it doesn’t impose any rollbacks or job cuts or wage freezes,” he said. “My understanding is it does not have any impact on the pandemic pay program.”
But despite nurses who gathered at Oosterhoff’s office Wednesday to protest the wage cap imposed last November as part of Bill 124, he said he will not lobby Queen’s Park on their behalf.
“Bill 124 was developed in consultation with public sector bargaining agents and employers in good faith. It’s designed to protect public sector jobs and vital front-line services,” Oosterhoff said. “We thank our nurses who are delivering critical services that protect all Ontarians and that’s why we brought forward as well the pay premium, which is the largest program of its kind in this country … The reality is, Bill 124 is designed to ensure we have sustainable public sector jobs and it doesn’t include a wage freeze, rollback or any job cuts.”