Niagara Health welcomes wage increases for front-line staff
CUPE, SEIU workers will see six per cent salary increase over two years
Niagara Health says a six per cent wage increase awarded by arbitration to front-line healthcare workers recognizes their enormous value, despite the ongoing budget pressures the hospital system faces.
Hospital workers across Ontario represented by Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) were awarded the contracts in a decision by arbitrator William Kaplan, announced Friday.
Workers from both unions will see wage increases of six per cent over the two-year term of their respective contracts — three per cent per year.
The workers, including clerical and maintenance staff, will also see increased health and dental benefits, as well as quarterly reports on the use of costly agency staff with an eye to keeping as much work as possible in house.
In a statement, Niagara Health said it “recognizes the enormous value of our frontline health-care workers and welcomes the results of a fair bargaining process with our union partners.”
“While there is no single solution that will fundamentally address the multifaceted health human resource challenges, we are continuing to work on longterm solutions to prevent burnout and improve job satisfaction for our teams,” the statement said.
The increase comes as hospitals across Ontario, including those in Niagara, are struggling with deficits.
In early February, Niagara Health was anticipating a yearend budget deficit of about $12 million, while at the time blaming its shortfall on high labour costs.
The hospital system said wages account for approximately 70 per cent of its budget, “and we will continue to work with the government to address our pressures.”
In a written statement, SEIU Healthcare president Sharleen Stewart said the decision will allow hospital workers to “temporarily breathe a sigh of relief.”
“Patients deserve hospital workers who are focused on them, not the economic anxieties they face because of years of attacks from the provincial government,” she said. “After our unions delivered Premier (Doug) Ford a defeat on Bill 124, this award is a win for hospital workers who have been holding the health-care system together with sacrifice and grit.”
CUPE Ontario Council of Hospital Unions president Michael Hurley said the decision “will lift the spirits of front-line hospital workers who are struggling with impossible workloads in a staff-retention crisis.”
“Significant improvements to dental and other benefits, real wage increases and substantial adjustments to premiums will all contribute to making these front-line hospital staff feel valued and help them to better cope with the cost-of-living crisis that all working people are facing.”
The wage increases are in addition to the 6.25 per cent increase workers received after Bill 124 was struck down, limiting increases to one per cent annually for each of three years.