The Ministry of Health has informed some seniors’ care operators and the Hospital Employees’ Union (HEU) that it will end wage-levelling payments at fully private long-term care and assisted living sites on December 31, 2025.
While most HEU members who currently receive wage-levelling will not be impacted, nearly 3,000 workers at close to 30 sites providing care services not funded by government, could be affected by the decision.
If employers refuse to make up the difference in wage rates when the pandemic-era program ends, workers at these sites could face significant wage cuts.
“Many for-profit corporations impacted by this decision charge the highest fees for seniors’ care in the province,” says HEU secretary-business manager Lynn Bueckert. “They’ve benefited financially from wage-levelling for more than five years.
“They can afford to pay the difference, and they should. We expect these employers to be in a strong position to offer wages, benefits and working conditions that are competitive to the province-wide agreements in the sector.”
HEU is disappointed that the government made this announcement without a broader plan for the sector, despite their 2024 election platform promise to ensure common wages, benefits, and working conditions for staff in seniors’ care.
“Without a comprehensive plan for the sector, this announcement causes chaos,” says Bueckert. “Seniors’ care workers deserve stable, respectful working conditions that allow them to provide the high-quality care seniors deserve.”
Wage-levelling was introduced in the spring of 2020 – more than five years ago – at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was part of the public health response to reduce virus transmission in seniors’ care facilities and supported the decision to limit employees to working at a single site.
As part of this policy, wages at both publicly subsidized and fully private long-term care and assisted living sites were brought in line with the corresponding public sector agreements.
HEU will continue to fight these wage cuts through immediate wage reopener negotiations with employers, in accordance with our collective agreement protections.
This change does not impact HEU members working in the public sector, including the facilities, community health, and community social services subsectors, who are currently in contract negotiations for a new collective agreement.
For more information, members can contact HEU’s toll-free hotline at 1-888-456-7240 or email questions to wageinfo@heu.org and a representative will get back to you.