Home and Community Care Support Services ONA Members Ratify Tentative Agreement

TORONTO, Nov. 29, 2023 /CNW/ - More than 4,300 Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA) members who work in Home and Community Care Support Services (HCCSS) across the province have ratified a tentative agreement with their employer. This agreement ? which was reached during three days of intense conciliation last week ? marks just the beginning of recovering the financial ground that our members have lost over the last decade.

The two-year agreement spans from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2024, and provides wage increases of three per cent per year for all classifications, improved shift and weekend premiums, improved mental health coverage and vision care.

"This agreement is a good start to improving our members' wages, benefits and working conditions in the home and community care sector, so that they can continue to provide quality care to Ontarians," notes ONA Provincial President Erin Ariss, RN. "There are still much needed improvements to ensure the sector provides fair wages, safe staffing and timely care, and we will be bringing these issues back to the bargaining table next year."

The highly educated and dedicated care coordinators, nurse practitioners, clinical care specialists, clerical support workers, mental health and addictions nurses and palliative care nurses are vital to their patients and clients. They work on the front lines to assess, plan and develop complex treatment and home care, working directly with many organizations to arrange safe, quality care.

Leading up to conciliation, ONA members and supporters held a successful phone and email drive that targeted Premier Ford, Minister of Health Sylvia Jones and Ontario Health President Matthew Anderson. Hundreds of phone calls were made and emails sent to underscore the need for safe staffing and fair wages.

ONA is the union representing 68,000 ONA registered nurses and health-care professionals, as well as 18,000 nursing student affiliates, providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community, clinics and industry.

SOURCE Ontario Nurses' Association