Home care rally shows “we must drive change”

On April 16, during ONA’s Provincial Leadership Meeting in Toronto, leaders and members, along with the Board of Directors, staff and allies, brought their fight to Queen’s Park for a feisty rally calling on bosses and the Ford government to Pay Fair for Home Care. We rallied in support of upcoming provincial bargaining for more than 200 Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) members, complete with chants, a musical interlude and many familiar faces.

“These members provide crucial services to clients across our province,” ONA First Vice-President Alan Warrington told the large gathering in kicking off the rally just a few days after the Ontario Legislature resumed following the provincial election. “Every client is different and needs specialized care. Home care nurses support them, help with their complex needs, palliative care, chronic conditions and much more.”

“Their work saves the health-care system untold amounts of desperately needed health-care dollars,” added ONA Provincial President Erin Ariss. “Yet, despite this invaluable work, VON nurses are working in a fractured system with impossible working conditions. It is a shame!”

Real lost wages

That includes working in isolation, often in remote areas, facing violence on the job, and dealing with significant workloads as they frequently visit clients back-to-back who may live hours apart. Despite that, they are the lowest paid nurses in the province, have lost 14 per cent in real wages over the past decade (after wage cuts and soaring inflation are taken into account), pay out of pocket for gas to travel to clients and don’t receive added pay for working weekends, late nights and holidays. As a result, many home care nurses have been forced to leave their jobs, and with Ontario’s aging population expected to grow by more than 650,000 people in the next six years, we know there won’t be enough remaining to provide the home-care services we need. Read more here.

“It’s so inspiring to see you all here today ready to fight with me and the small but mighty team at VON,” said a visibly moved VON Provincial Negotiating Team member Lorna Thompson from ONA43. “I’ve been a nurse for 40 years, 30 in the community. It was a good decision at the time. We had decent wages closely on par with the hospital sector and the fairness and respect that everyone should expect in their workplaces…It’s sad that this dream job is now riddled with poor wages and benefits, workplace violence and impossible workloads.”

While change is never easy, it’s possible, she added. “This is our work, our profession, our lives. We must drive this change. It won’t come if we wait for someone else or for some other time. We’re the ones we have been waiting for; we’re the change we need. Collectively, we’re a force that can't be ignored.”

Seen and appreciated

If the rally speakers were anything to go by, including union leaders, leaders of the Ontario NDP, Liberal and Green parties, home care nurses and personal support workers from sibling unions who showed up in solidarity with VON members, that might be an understatement.

“If nurses are on the lawn of Queen’s Park, shit isn’t going well in Ontario, am I right?” said Ontario Federation of Labour President Laura Walton. “My mom was a nurse like you, and when I told her I was doing this today, she said, ‘you let them know I’m fighting for them.’ I replied, ‘oh mom, don’t worry, it isn’t just you fighting for them because on behalf of one-million workers and 54 unions, we’re all fighting for you!’”

Ontario Health Coalition Executive Director Natalie Mehra reiterated that sentiment, noting that “it’s amazing what you do. I want you know that it’s seen and appreciated.”

It also needs to be heard. With Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie introducing newly-elected MPP (Nepean) Tyler Watt to the crowd, we have an RN and ONA member in the Legislature, who said he has our backs.

“You can call us heroes all you want, but actions speak louder than words and we’re going to fight for that. One of the most important things I learned about being a nurse is to advocate for each other, our patients and the community, and that’s why we’re here today. Community health is the backbone of our system and has been ignored for far too long. We keep people healthy, at home and away from the hospital, and it costs our system less.

“I’m a proud ONA member, and it’s because of events like this and being involved that inspired me to run for politics. Nurses know what to do to fix this broken health-care system, and that starts with investments in the community and making sure that every single one of you working there is paid appropriately.”

Personal experiences

After hearing solidarity songs by Common Thread Community Chorus, the rally culminated in a powerful and moving display. ONA members from different sectors across the province held life-sized letters spelling out, “pay fair for home care” and shared how critical home care nurses are not only to our public health-care system but to them and their loved ones.

“When I needed home care, they provided care, expertise and comfort so I could recover from surgery,” said Mirella Costa from ONA237. “I will be forever grateful. We can’t afford to not support home care.”

“We’re sometimes sending patients home right from surgery and they need home care and to be safe,” said Raven McLean from ONA100, while Mae Nixon from ONA12 added, “we can’t ask more of our families. Nurses must have the resources we need so we can take care of our patients.”

“This government may not care about our home care nurses or nurses in general and the VON employer might not care about you, but I work in the hospital sector and I know that what you do matters to the people that I care for,” stated Stephanie Hamill from ONA55. “I care about you. And I will be there to fight with you.”

We need you all to fight with our VON members. Learn how at ona.org/VON.