Staff in Simcoe County’s three long-term care homes will see their wages rise by more than five per cent immediately, along with a lump-sum retroactive payment, thanks to a Ministry of Labour arbitration ruling.
Without a contract since Dec. 31, 2013, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1 – whose 500 members include registered practical nurses, dietary aides, housekeepers, laundry staff and maintenance workers at Sunset Manor, Trillium Manor and Simcoe Manor – was awarded a three-year package that raised wages two per cent on Jan. 1, 2014, followed by 1.5 per cent increases in 2015 and 2016.
SEIU and the county began negotiating in November 2014. The county had been working towards raises similar to that it reached with registered nurses (RNs) – 1.5 per cent in 2014 and 1.4 per cent in 2015, a county staff report by human resources director Mike Moffatt said.
During talks with SEIU, the county made progress on language issues, but money was a barrier.
“Their list of monetary demands were referred to Interest Arbitration under the Hospital Labour Disputes Arbitration Act 1990,” said Moffatt. “The issues were presented to an arbitration panel on April 13, 2016 and a decision from the arbitration panel was executed on April 26, 2016.”
The award also boosts benefits for massage to $250 per year, up from $150 per year, and a chiropractic care coverage to $300 per year, up from $250 annually.
It also stipulated a $0.25 per hour raise for registered practical nurses (RPNs) on Jan. 1, 2016.
Using settlements ranging between 1.5 per cent and two per cent during the three years of the contract, the county had included wage increases of 1.79 per cent in year one, 1.35 per cent in year two and 1.59 per cent in year three, which totals $848,066.21 in its human resources budgets.
