3,000 Red Cross Workers Begin Strike Action

I love how the local coverage starts out...Owen Sound Sun Times

"With few exceptions, Red Cross personal support workers in Grey-Bruce stopped bathing clients, caring for the dying and helping wheelchair-bound people in their homes Wednesday as a rotating strike making its way across the province interrupted work here."

See how mean these workers are...they left the most vunerable alone...to DIE!!

Ok I"m exaggerating, but that's how I read it

To put this in context, these workers have been without a contract for many months. This responsible job action is the only way they can get their employer to come to the table to address the problem that workers do not get paid for the periods of time they spend travelling between clients. They only get paid for the time they spend actually providing care -- and never nearly enough time for what really needs to be done, but that's not a bargaining issue this round.

Up until now, the employer's response has been to offer them less money for the same work.

The Red Cross workers earn up to about $15.00 per hour, less travel time (which may be several hours per shift) for challenging and physically demanding work that includes assisting with basic personal hygeine. Nursing home employees doing the same job don't have to travel, they get paid straight through their shift, they can call on co-workers for assistance when required, and they are paid up to $19.00 an hour. That's why there is an average 40% turnover in these jobs over the life of a three-year agreement.

We say that we want to give elderly and disabled people the dignity of remaining in their homes and communities as long as possible. We want to free up hospital beds for urgent cases, not long-term care or recovery. It is much cheaper to provide care this way and it is almost always the clients' fervent preference. Yet we're underfunding community care providers, by a program of farming out service contracts for competitive bidding, to such an extent that even the most committed and caring workers often can't afford to keep these jobs.

These clients are some of the most vulnerable people in the province and their suffering is tremendously increased by this cruel and heartless practice.

Quote:

The Ontario government’s decision to invest in massive corporate tax cuts instead of working people is an example of misplaced priorities, according to Sharleen Stewart President of SEIU Local 1 Canada.

“This government is ready to hand billions to companies that are making good money – but doesn’t have a cent for a working woman struggling in home care,” said Stewart.

Women and men who provide home care services in Ontario are often surviving on wages that leave them below the poverty line. While the government has set a “minimum wage” of $12.50 an hour – home care workers are only paid for a fraction of the hours in their work day.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/d6t96v

http://www.seiulocal1.org

About time. Those working as home care support workers for the CRC in Ontario start out with $13, have to work an obscene amount of hours including shift work that changes by the day, and have a heavy physical/psychological burden. When the vote came around, these taxed workers were told by their fear-mongering management that if they voted for a strike they would lose their jobs because the government cannot afford to raise their pay during this recession. I am glad they didn't listen. Their working conditions are VERY poor and something needs to be done NOW.