ALEXANDRIA, Ont. – Employees of The Palace Alexandria long-term care and retirement home in eastern Ontario will be picketing outside the facility on February 7 to bring awareness to their efforts to improve working conditions exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
WHO: The Palace Alexandria long-term care and retirement home employees,
members of USW Local 9211-14
WHAT: Information picket, re: working conditions
WHEN: Monday, February 7, 2 p.m.-4 p.m.
WHERE: The Palace Alexandria, 69 St. Paul St., Alexandria, Ont., K0C 1A0
The 80 workers have faced tremendous challenges in providing care during the pandemic to vulnerable residents at The Palace Alexandria, a private, for-profit facility with 70 long-term care beds and 36 retirement home beds.
The workers, members of the United Steelworkers union (USW), have attempted to negotiate a fair collective agreement with their employer, without success. The Palace Alexandria management, led by the consulting firm Bass Associates, has demanded concessions that include cuts to sick pay and sick time accumulation.
The parties have concluded negotiations and the outcome of a new collective agreement is in the hands of a board of arbitration. The board is expected to meet on February 8, 2022, to determine the outcome of the collective agreement. However, there is still time for the employer to retract its concessions and to offer a fair deal. In the final stages of the process, the workers are asking their employer to do the right thing and treat them with respect and dignity.
“This is a gross injustice for workers who have spent the last two years struggling with the toll that COVID-19 has inflicted on them and on the residents in their care,” said Colette McIntee, Chair and the USW bargaining unit representing the workers.
“The Palace Alexandria has also proposed concessions that would bring further uncertainty and instability to work schedules already plagued by chronic staffing shortages,” McIntee added.
The workers will hold an information picket on Monday, February 7, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., outside The Palace Alexandria property, 69 St. Paul St., Alexandria, Ont.
“The Palace Alexandria staff have gone above and beyond caring on the front lines for some of our most vulnerable seniors throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. To now face demands for concessions over sick time and sick pay is totally unjustified. It’s time for the employer to recognize their hard work – with a fair deal,” McIntee said.
As health-care workers, the staff at the facility are denied the right to strike by Ontario’s Hospital Labour Disputes Arbitration Act, so they’re taking community action to draw attention to the serious issues they face.
At an emotional union membership meeting recently, workers made it clear that, if not for being denied the right to strike, they would consider such action to fight for changes needed to improve conditions for themselves and the residents in their care.
“These long-term care and retirement home workers have been universally recognized as front-line heroes during the pandemic. It’s time for The Palace Alexandria to respect its staff and address the serious issues they face, such as adequate pay for all workers, fair scheduling and job posting language and no concessions on sick leave benefits – all of which affect resident care,” said Myles Sullivan, the USW’s Ontario Director-elect.
“The reasonable changes the workers are requesting will have a positive impact for the residents, the home and the staff. All they’re asking for is a deal that is fair to everyone,” Sullivan said.
Myles Sullivan, USW Ontario Director-elect, 416-243-8792
Richard Leblanc, USW Area Co-ordinator, Eastern Ontario, 613-551-5000, rjleblanc@usw.ca
Denis St. Pierre, USW Communications, 647-522-1630, dstpierre@usw.ca
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