Historic win for PSWs everywhere as Arbitrator denies Durham region's HSCPOA policy

Ajax, ON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For months, Personal Support Workers (PSWs) employed by the Region of Durham have been fighting to protect their seniority rights and their ability to transfer into PSW positions at the Region's new Seaton Village Long-Term Care home. Although registration with the Health and Supportive Care Oversight Authority (HSCPOA) is not yet mandatory under provincial regulations, the Region imposed a requirement that prevented existing PSWs who were not registered from obtaining positions at the Region’s newest home.

In a significant victory for CUPE members, Arbitrator Parmar allowed the Union's grievance, finding that the Region's decision to impose this requirement was arbitrary, unreasonable, and violated employees' seniority rights under the Collective Agreement.

For Tera Engley, a PSW and President of CUPE 132, the decision comes as a big relief. “Arbitrator Parmar’s decision is a huge win for the members of CUPE 132, and a step in the right direction for all PSWs in Ontario,” she said. “It shows that despite everything the Ford government has done to try and diminish our profession, we still matter, and we still have rights.”

CUPE has been calling for a revision of the HSCPOA registry since it was announced by the Ontario Government in 2021. One of the fundamental problems with the Health and Supportive Care Providers Oversight Authority (HSCPOA) is the absence of PSWs on its board of directors, says Engley, who has been working as a PSW for 21 years.

“Whether it be in homecare, long-term care, or in our hospital system, PSWs deserve the same respect that all healthcare professionals get,” added Debra Maxfield, Chair of CUPE Ontario’s Health Care Worker’s Coordinating Committee. “Today’s decision is a victory for the members of CUPE 132, but we won’t stop this fight until the government agrees to our demands for fairness for all PSWs.”

Michael Hurley, President of CUPE’s hospital division (Ontario Council of Hospital Unions), says that the provincial government must demonstrate real respect for PSWs, who are predominantly women and increasingly racialized.

“Personal support workers are stunned to be denied the same rights to representation and due process as every other regulated profession in Ontario. Given the gendered, racialized composition of the workforce, this model is tone deaf and completely unfair” he says. “For Ontario to address the PSW shortage, the Ford government must ensure that these workers have the rights enjoyed by every other regulated professional, in addition to fair compensation and decent working conditions.”

The government has made some positive changes to HSCPOA since the body’s conception in 2021, acknowledges Maxfield. But the pace of change has been slow. Five years later, PSWs are still demanding a fair system. The Ontario Council of Hospital Unions and CUPE Ontario’s Health Care Worker’s Coordinating Committee have held multiple rallies over the course of the summer and will continue to put pressure on the Ford Government to amend the registry to include PSWs on the governing board.

“This isn’t over,” vowed Engley. “All PSWs deserve respect and fair treatment. CUPE will keep fighting.”

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