Nearly 3,000 Community Care Access Centre employees, including nurses, social workers and therapists, took to picket lines on Jan. 30 after negotiations between the Ontario Nurses Association and CCAC broke down last week.
The Waterloo Wellington CCAC is one group of many workers affected across the province. Only employees in the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant region were able to come to a new agreement.
The CCAC’s last contract, which saw a two-year wage freeze, expired on March 31, 2014 and since then, unionized employees have been seeking small wage increases equal to the percentages given to other members of the ONA who work in hospitals, long-term care and public health facilities.
In a statement on Jan. 30, ONA president Linda Haslam-Stroud expressed her disappointment with the outcome.
“Shame on these employers for putting registered nurses, health care professionals and our patients at risk by forcing us to withdraw our care,” she said. “We care for our patients in their homes, schools and communities and are your community health advocates.”
Those affected include nurses, social workers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists and allied health professionals.
“Government is relying more on community care as it pushes services out of hospitals, and the role that our CCAC members play in the system must be respected,” Haslam-Stroud said.
“We are happy to return to the bargaining table as soon as these employers are prepared to recognize that our members are not second-class citizens.
“The strike is about dignity and respect, and also sends an important message that these CCAC CEOs can’t give themselves a large salary increase and then unfairly compensate the highly skilled, invaluable front-line workers who provide care.”
In a release issued on its website, Waterloo Wellington CCAC emphasized patients currently in the system will continue to receive service at home and in community clinics throughout the strike.
Yet provincial CCAC CEO Dale Clement said he is eager to get back to the bargaining table as soon as possible.
“The safety and wellbeing of patients is our top priority and continuity of care is essential,” he said.
“The CCAC is committed to continuing to work closely with hospitals and other partners to maintain patient flow. While we recognize how important the contributions of our ONA members are, we are working with our partners to meet the needs of our community during this disruption.”
Health professionals are currently on strike in the following CCACs: North East, North West, Central East, Central, North Simcoe Muskoka, Waterloo Wellington, South East, South West and Erie St. Clair.
