Around 40 health care workers and supporters rallied in North Bay on Wednesday in front of Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli’s office to protest a bill they say cuts public employee wages by four per cent.
The Ford government passed Bill 124 in 2019 to cap most public sector wage increases at one per cent, including those of nurses. Nurses have repeatedly said it interferes with their ability to collectively bargain and acquire the pay increases they say they deserve.
Protesters from North Bay and area and from other Ontario cities such as Kingston, Hamilton and Ottawa converged on Fedeli’s office. It was the last demonstration in a series of protests outside of Conservative MPP’s offices.
"It's a terrible, terrible law," said North Bay and District Labour Council President Henri Giroux.
"It infringes on our benefits and our collective agreement. This government has not learned. Through the pandemic we’ve had 4,000 deaths in long-term care."
Protestors chanted the word “shame” multiple times and aimed it directly at the province. They argue the legislation doesn't take into account inflation.
They are especially upset that Premier Doug Ford described health care workers over the past two years as "pandemic heroes," but still are limiting their wage increases.
"I don't think the public would agree that real wage cuts would be a fitting reward for health care workers after what they've tried to do," said Ontario Council of Hospital Unions President Michael Hurley.
“This means real wage cuts and an inability to bargain psychological and other mental health supports for health care workers in long-term care homes and hospitals.”
They argue health care workers have been demanding the need for personal protective equipment since the start of the pandemic, but they were told they weren’t necessary or weren’t available.
More than 39,000 health care workers have tested positive COVID-19 during the pandemic and many will never go back to their jobs because of lingering effects of the disease. At least 24 health care workers have died because of the virus.
In a statement to CTV News, Fedeli said the province is investing $763 million for a lump sum retention incentive of up to $5,000 per nurse.
“Ontario's nurses are also receiving pandemic pay -- a nearly $12,000 salary top-up, on average,” Fedeli said.
“Our government has also committed $342 million over five years to strengthen Ontario's nursing workforce by adding over 5,000 new and upskilled registered nurses as well as 8000 personal support workers to critical areas across the province.”
Fedeli said a combined total of $61 million is going toward the Ontario Nursing Graduate Program to provide full-time salary and benefits for more than 600 nurses, with a focus on recruiting in areas of need such as acute and long-term care.
The plan is to add 800 nurses to the health system in target areas of need across the province, and to increase enrollment in nursing education programs in Ontario colleges and universities.
According to Statistics Canada, the health care and social assistance sectors had more vacancies than any other sector in January 2021.
Additionally, health care workers reported working more hours in April 2021 than during the first wave of the pandemic in April 2020.
