Ontario nursing home workers set to start picketing

This week, it was announced that the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) will be holding 37 information pickets across the province on Friday (April 12) to help raise awareness of the current state of wage and quality disparities in care facilities in Ontario. 

This incentive will also lay the groundwork for next week’s massive bargaining event, where 3,000 ONA members are set to negotiate with their primary employer. ONA is currently comprised of roughly 68,000 nurses and healthcare workers, and on top of this, an additional 18,000 nursing student affiliates.

The official ONA release claims that in an era of organizations showcasing record profits, both nursing staff and vulnerable residents pay the price, and as a result, the upcoming bargaining incentive has been built specifically around the rights of nursing home workers and their clients. 

According to ONA’s official campaign page, the primary power in question is Exendicare, Ontario’s largest for-profit organization that oversees nursing home facilities throughout the province, with primary bargaining concerns mainly surrounding nursing homes operating with immense staff shortages — which results in burnt-out workers and neglected clients. 

No word has been released from Extendicare so far on ONA’s claims. However, after next week’s collective bargaining process, the landscape for nursing home care in Ontario may look different.