Over 100 long-term care workers rally for better working conditions and wages as for-profit corporation stonewalls in negotiations

Markham, ON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On Monday, June 29, over 100 long-term care workers from across the province boarded buses to hold a rally at Extendicare’s head office in Markham.

Eight CUPE local unions representing 1,100 long-term care staff are currently in bargaining with Extendicare. The employees are calling on the for-profit corporation to address chronic understaffing, low wages and inadequate benefits - issues directly tied to resident care. Extendicare previously withdrew from talks in early April, leading to a three-month standstill in contract negotiations.

Extendicare is one of Canada’s largest private long-term care providers. Last year, the company made over $96 million dollars in profits, while long-term care workers - a workforce that is both predominantly women and disproportionately racialized, continue to be undervalued and under-resourced.

In Ontario, health care workers are denied the right to strike. This has allowed employers to side-step negotiations and ignore the concerns of workers who are already facing multiple systemic barriers.

Long-term care staff take on physically demanding jobs to provide quality care for some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

“Long-term care workers don’t do this work because we want to get rich. We do it because we care about our residents, we care about our communities. But right now, we can’t keep up,” said Lisa Freeman, president of CUPE 4788, representing Extendicare Oshawa workers.

When facilities are understaffed, employees are forced to fill in the gaps. This has a direct impact on the level of care that residents receive.

“Understaffing affects our ability to provide timely and consistent care to our residents. Residents need assistance with basic things, like eating, walking, using the toilet, taking baths, and getting into bed. Staffing levels directly impact the quality of life, and in many cases, residents suffer when there are not enough workers to help them,” Freeman added.

The result: long-term care workers put their own health and wellbeing on the line in an occupation that already faces increased rates of violence and injury on the job.

Extendicare is trying to force employees to accept longer hours, precarious working conditions, and below-inflation wage increases. Low compensation poses a recruitment and retention issue, driving workers out of the sector. This contributes to understaffing, overwork, and burnout, at a moment when an aging population is placing a growing demand on long-term care services. In response, employers pivot to a casual work force, impacting job security and continuity of care.

For the past eight years, these 1,100 workers have been bargaining as a collective unit for a ‘central contract’, aiming to set the standard for the sector. They are fighting for a living wage and improvements to health benefits to support themselves and their families within a cost-of-living crisis.

Historically, the CUPE ‘central contract’ with Extendicare sets the pattern for long-term care workers across the province. Suppressed wages and benefits won’t just impact Extendicare workers, they will affect the entire workforce of more than 100,000 long-term care workers in Ontario.

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