Overview
- CUPE-represented staff at 22 long-term care homes, who began a strike Monday at 7 a.m., put about 2,200 workers on picket lines with more sites expected to follow.
- The province says its four-year deal lifts wages at least 12% and up to 24% by classification, pays retroactive to 2023, boosts shift and weekend premiums 70%, and extends access to a defined benefit pension through 2027.
- Union leaders say members need a living wage and want a flat $5-per-hour raise, noting support service roles pay about $18.77 an hour and that the offer leaves the lowest-paid just over $21, which workers say strains rent and grocery budgets.
- Long-Term Care Minister Barbara Adams said 27 other unionized homes accepted the same terms and argued some members were not shown the deal, which CUPE called misinformation and said it shared in February town halls.
- Essential service agreements at the affected homes keep key daily care in place, including meals, dressing, personal care and medication administration during the walkout.