Premier's office walking back 'guarantee' for PSW wages?

During the question and answer period following the official announcement of the construction of a new long-term care facility in North Bay, when asked about wages and working conditions for Ontario's personal support workers, Premier Doug Ford seemed to guarantee a temporary three dollar per hour pandemic wage increase for PSWs would become permanent.

See original story: New Long-Term Care Home will have a 'Premier' view of Lake Nipissing

"We're the first government to come along and say they deserve more money," Ford declared. "We gave them a three dollar an hour bump in pay. We're going to make sure that's one hundred percent. I know it was temporary but they're going to have a three-dollar increase in pay." 

Ford acknowledged it was important to not only train a new wave of PSWs but pay the skilled workforce appropriately. He noted PSWs are "overworked and underpaid," adding they "deserve every single penny times ten."

Ford concluded with, "We're going to keep that in place, the three dollars an hour pay for them," later adding, "It's a guarantee, we're going to do it."

Over 158,000 PSWs in long-term care facilities, community care, public hospitals and those who provide services to children have received that increase in pay since October 2020. It has since been extended twice. The wage increase currently in place is set to expire on August 23.

Detractors say wage increases for specific sectors of the health care field can also lead to recruitment issues and shortages in sectors working at standard rates. There is also the matter of PSWs and other health care workers working in settings other than those earmarked for pandemic pay increases, perhaps necessitating wage adjustments across the board.

Within hours, the Premier's office had already walked back Ford's pronouncement on PSW pay, although Ivana Yelich, Executive Director of Media Relations for the Office of the Premier tells BayToday, "We recently extended the temporary wage increase until August 23rd, but the Premier has said many times in the past that he’s committed to making it permanent."

While it sounded like the $3/hour wage increase was becoming permanent, that's not the case at this point.

The premier's office tells me he's "committed to making it permanent" but there's "still a lot of work" to be done. "You don't just snap your fingers and make it happen" https://t.co/SC48jVwHKC

— Lorenda Reddekopp (@CBCLorenda) July 5, 2021

As president, Elaine Lebold represented the Waters Edge Care Community residents' council at the announcement. The residents from Waters Edge on William Street will move over in 2023 to what will be their newly named home at the former McLaren site of St. Joseph's Hospital.

The almost 90-year-old Lebold had nothing but good things to say about the staff at Waters Edge, her home for the last six years. 

"They are always anxious to hear what I have to say. They are always there when we need them," said Lebold. "I give all the thanks to the PSWs."

And, she told Ford as much, conveying the importance of the support staff at the long-term care facility when called upon by the Premier.

Lebold later elaborated with, "The PSWs will come into our room — and I don't have many bad days — but if we have had a bad day, they come in, they sit on the bed. We have a nice conversation. And, they make people feel important."