SACKVILLE, N.B. – They had hoped to get the ear of the premier on Tuesday as they rallied outside the Drew Nursing Home in Sackville.
But even though Brian Gallant was a no-show at Tuesday’s funding announcement at the Drew, that didn’t stop dozens of local nursing home workers from standing out in the pouring rain to deliver their message to the provincial government.
The workers, front-line staff at the Drew that are members of CUPE 3982, staged a rally outside the nursing home calling for changes to how facilities are run in the province, particularly stressing the need for more hours of care.
Amy Johnson, president of the local union and a resident attendant at the Drew, said staff often feel they are not able to work to the best of their abilities because of the heavy workloads and regular staff shortages, resulting in stress and injuries.
“You leave work every day feeling like you’ve let people down. You just don’t have the time to give the residents the care they need. Our seniors deserve better.”
–Amy Johnson
Wayne Brown, president of the New Brunswick Council of Nursing Home Unions, said with a provincial election dawning, the unions will be “ramping up” their demand for more care hours. While the current standard hours of care is 3.1 hours per day per resident (although Brown stressed the “hands-on care” is actually 2.9), CUPE is striving to bring that level up to 3.5 hours of care.
The unions are also calling on the province to tackle the shortage of nursing home workers in New Brunswick before moving ahead with its plan to add more than 1,000 nursing home and memory care beds and build new nursing homes.
Brown said a strategy needs to be put in place to recruit and retain workers before the province starts to create new beds. He is part of a recently-formed recruitment and retention committee in New Brunswick that aims to do just that –“but that’s not going to happen overnight.”
The local CUPE, which represents about 130 members including resident assistants, food service workers, environmental service workers, clerical support, laundry attendants and maintenance workers, was also rallying Tuesday to let the premier know their workers have been without a contract since October 2016.
Brown said although the union believed it was close to finally signing a deal last month, talks once again broke down. He said most of the issues have been resolved but the employer was asking for concessions from its workers, which they weren’t prepared to make. Brown said the workers have fought hard for their entitlements and the union adheres to a no-concession policy. A conciliator has been appointed and negotiations will resume at the end of May.
Memramcook-Tantramar MLA Bernard LeBlanc, who made the announcement at the Drew on Tuesday on behalf of the premier who had a schedule change, revealed that the nursing home will be getting $2.3 million for renovations over the next five years.
Following the announcement, LeBlanc said he recognized the workers’ concerns related to hours of care and staff shortages and is hopeful these issues can be addressed.
“The government knows it’s a challenge, there’s no question about that, we know . . . .and we’re trying to do our best.”
