Support Our Seniors, Protect Hours of Work! CUPE Members Rally Outside Sienna Senior Living's Head Office to Defend Hours of Work from Employer Cuts

MARKHAM, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sienna Senior living is one of Canada’s most profitable Long Term Care providers. They operate homes across the country, benefiting from government subsidies and other public investments. Despite the recently announced $4.9 billion investment from the Ontario government to help with staffing and retention for PSWs, Sienna has made the regrettable decision to cut 1,300 full time hours from their schedule at the Case Manor facility in Bobcaygeon, in violation of the workers collective agreement and despite this newly announced funding.

The affected workers, members of CUPE 3204, immediately took action to fight back against these dangerous cuts to their hours of work. They held a rally outside of the home in Bobcaygeon, delivered a letter to the local MPP; demanding clarity on the employer’s claim that budget cuts were driving their decision to cut hours, and filed multiple grievances.

Today, as President Joan Kelly and CUPE National Staff brought the matter to the Labour Board in an expedited Arbitration hearing, CUPE 3204 members, labour allies, and the CUPE Ontario executive board held a solidarity rally outside Sienna Senior Living’s Head Corporate Office in Markham. “Less hours doesn’t just mean less money for the workers. It’s also increased workloads. It means our employer is expecting us to work harder, and faster, trying to fit everything we are expected to do in our usual schedules into 20% less time. This isn’t just unsustainable, it’s dangerous,” said Ashlee McKibbon, Vice President of CUPE 3204. “It’s also dangerous for our residents. The vulnerable seniors we support. It means we will have less time to provide the quality care that they rely on us for, which will directly translate into a reduction in quality of care.”

These workers were joined by Bob Coulter, president of CUPE Local 5438, representing the 35 workers at Sienna’s Aspira Kawartha Lakes Retirement community. This Local has also been told the employer is planning to cut hours of work at the retirement facility, much like they are trying to do at Case Manor.

“Our members are already overworked putting in long hours for very little pay,” said Coulter. “We do this work because we want to be of service to our community, to care for our seniors, and to provide for ourselves and our families.”

Thanks to the community support and solidarity of the local members, CUPE 3204 members have successfully pressured the employer to not only walk aback the cuts to their hours but also increase the hours on the schedule. The members of CUPE Local 3204 and 5438 are planning to keep up the pressure on their employer until the cuts at the Aspira Kawartha Lakes site home are reversed. In a show of support and solidarity, CUPE Ontario executive board members promised to do their part to help as well.

“Today, we are here in solidarity with our siblings in CUPE 3204 and 5438, but we know this fight isn’t just happening in Bobcaygeon, said Yolanda McLean, Secretary Treasurer of CUPE Ontario. “Our healthcare system is under attack in this province. Employers like Sienna are just a symptom of a bigger disease.”

“This is a reminder of something we have known for a long time – private companies will always prioritize profits over people. Whether it is a long-term care facility, retirement home, or any other health care provider; when private companies are given the role public services should have in providing care, patients, workers, and the public suffer, added Debra Maxfield, Chairperson of CUPE Ontario’s Health Care Workers’ Coordinating Committee (HCWCC). “We need real public solutions to support our care workers, not more aimless government spending that goes into shareholder dividends instead of hours of work for long term care workers.”

CUPE Ontario took the opportunity to announce a summer of action for the Support Our Care campaign, with plans to collect petitions at community events all around the province to help build real supports for Health Care workers, and change legislation to ensure that workers like those in Local 3204 and 5438 have the respect and dignity they deserve to continue providing their vital services to the communities they care about.

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