By Barbara Fletcher I have always been a helper. For over 20 years, I have done the work of a PSW (Personal Support Worker), and I am good at it. I work in home care, the purpose of which is to keep people out of LTC (Long-term Care) and hospitals. It is better mentally, and Continue readingI help them stay in their homes; I want to stay in mine
homecare
By Zaid Noorsumar The Ontario PC government of Premier Doug Ford has rejected the Official Opposition’s call to remove profits from the province’s home care sector. During the standing committee meetings for Bill 175 on Monday and Tuesday, the government struck down all of the amendments proposed by the opposition parties. The NDP proposed 19 Continue readingFord government defeats amendment to remove profits from home care
By Zaid Noorsumar When she first began working as a home and community care nurse twenty years ago, Anne* had a regular 40-hours a week schedule. Today, Anne is working between 12 and 14-hour days at least three times a week and every other weekend. “I see 12 to 14 patients a day and am Continue readingPrivatization, two-tiered home care, and the burden on women
“If you aren’t careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing” – Malcolm X By Zaid Noorsumar The Ford government is back to overhauling Ontario’s home and community care system this month and Canadian media has nothing to say about it Continue readingMainstream media refuses to talk profits in Ontario home care
By Zaid Noorsumar Ontario’s new home and community care legislation will likely become law by the end of the month with virtually no public consultation, even as it impacts over 700,000 annual care recipients who require personal support services, nursing care, physiotherapy and other services. Instead of addressing the myriad problems that have plagued the Continue reading“We need a public, not-for-profit home care system”
By Zaid Noorsumar Premier Doug Ford and his PC government are moving ahead with their new home and community care legislation. According to the Ontario Health Coalition, the legislation will further enable privatization of home care and remove the existing provisions of public control and accountability. The legislation was being pushed through the Ontario legislature Continue readingFord government moving ahead with home care privatization bill
By Zaid Noorsumar The recent announcement by the Ford government to provide an additional $4 per hour for 16 weeks has been welcomed by home care workers, but they also say the sector needs fundamental transformation. “It’s a nice little bonus, but it’s not going to come anywhere close to fixing home care,” says Tammy Continue readingPandemic pay doesn’t cut it for Ontario’s home care workers
By Zaid Noorsumar Protective equipment shortages in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis are causing panic among home and community care workers and placing them on the verge of quitting, says an Ontario nurse who works in the sector. Janice Ackerman*, a registered practical nurse (RPN), says personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves, masks, Continue reading“We are dropping like flies,” says Ontario home care nurse
By Zaid Noorsumar Ontario’s home care workers are facing uncertainty due to the challenges posed by COVID-19 in a sector that is already under stress due to decades of privatization and underfunding. Workers across the sector who serve over 700,000 clients appear to be hampered by the shortage of personal protective equipment such as surgical Continue readingHome care workers face new health risks and financial hardships
by Zaid Noorsumar CarePartners, a for-profit home care company, is imposing a new contract on nearly 3,000 workers in Ontario that has been effectively rejected by the bargaining committee during negotiations. For some workers, the new contract will result in an effective pay cut worth several thousand dollars. The workforce comprises predominantly women, many of Continue readingCarePartners imposes rejected contract on homecare workers