Personal Support Workers with the Christian Labour Association of Canada will be holding an information picket outside of Maple View Long-Term Care Residence in Owen Sound today (FRI).
The CLAC’s Ontario Health Coordinator, Trish Douma, says the workers are asking for the government to increase funding to allow for 3.5 hours of personal care per day for each resident.
Douma says this represents a 42 minute increase each day, and it’s something support workers have been asking for a long time.
She says studies show that a worker has approximately seven minutes each morning to get a resident up and dressed and ready for their day.
Douma says that can be near impossible, as many of the residents need extra care and deal with other issues such as dementia.
Douma says the residents suffer from the lack of care, but the workers are suffering as well.
She says the workers are often coming in early, staying late, and skipping their meal breaks in order to provide a level of care they can feel good about.
The information picket will also be manned by those who support what the PSW’s are asking for.
Simultaneous picket lines will be up in Sarnia, Cambridge, and St. Catharine’s as well.
