Pay hike will change lives
For too long, continuing care assistants were underpaid as they looked after our loved ones
In some home care agencies, workers must be available ... 14 hours a day, but they will only be paid for the hours they provide care to clients.
As president of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, I have the privilege of representing thousands of continuing care assistants (CCA) working in a variety of settings: acute care (hospitals) and continuing care (long-term care facilities and home care). The value of the work these CCAs perform is immeasurable: they ensure clients are safe and well cared for and help maintain their dignity.
For far too long, these employees (mostly women) have been considerably underpaid for this vital work. Successive political leaders would trumpet their value, but when it came time to allocate funding to the agencies and facilities that employ these workers, their tune would change.
Then, the cupboards became quite bare, and these “essential workers” suddenly were referred to as glorified dishwashers by a past health minister. That seems to have finally changed. It may have taken the pandemic to finally wake government officials up, but it seems they now understand the severity of the situation.
You cannot fix Nova Scotia’s healthcare system without addressing the problems in continuing care.
For example, between January 2020 and January 2021, there was a 35 per cent increase in the wait time for Nova Scotians to access home-care services. As of January 2021, there were 1,086 clients waiting for homesupport service. And there is a 156day average wait time for placement in a nursing home, with almost 2,000 people needing placement in longterm care. Hundreds of these Nova Scotians are waiting in hospital. This, in turn, causes a bottleneck for admission into hospital for other patients.
We know that the number of seniors in Atlantic Canada will increase by 32 per cent over the next 20 years, putting additional pressure on the region’s already strained health-care system. Layer a pandemic on top of that, and the crisis isn’t coming — it’s here.
Depending on where they work, CCAs generally make between $17 to $21 per hour in Nova Scotia. Working conditions vary drastically, depending on whether they work in a hospital — where they have more stable hours and other team members to assist in caring for patients; or in long-term care, where the acuity level of clients has risen drastically; or in home care, where they must travel in all weather conditions, go into clients’ homes alone, and at all hours of the day. In fact, in some home care agencies, workers must be available to work for 14 hours a day, but they will only be paid for the hours they provide care to clients.
When you consider all of this, it’s easy to understand why people weren’t interested in a career as a CCA. And why, when many new CCAs got into the field, they were quickly exiting. I’ve had members tell us that going to work in food service would be more financially lucrative, and likely less physically demanding, than the work of lifting an adult out of bed and helping them shower.
For the CCAs who have stayed in the field despite all of these challenges, the decision hasn’t been a logical one, it has been an emotional one. They’ve remained because they genuinely care for the clients they serve. They know that many Nova Scotians — especially those who receive home care — have no one else to help them.
MORE THAN A PAY RAISE
I am overjoyed that these workers are finally seeing real recognition for the important work they do. For many CCAs, the recent announcement that they would be receiving a 23 per cent pay increase — roughly $9,000 more a year, effective immediately — is lifechanging. It means they have a chance of keeping up with the rising cost of living, they may not need to take on a second job to make ends meet, and they can continue caring for the clients they love.
This wage increase was a critical step on the path towards meaningful change for our continuing care and acute care systems. By stepping out as a leader on compensation for CCAs in Canada, we have a shot at recruiting and retaining the workers we so desperately need. Now, we look forward to continuing to work with government to improve working conditions for CCAs, as well as addressing compensation for all other low-paid, crucial professions within the healthcare sector. Together, I am confident we can improve the future of health care in Nova Scotia.
In solidarity.