Stellarton Nursing Home Votes to Strike

STELLARTON, NS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Long term care workers from Valley View Villa, represented by CUPE 2330, have held strike votes, with 100% of those who voted casting ballots in favour of a strike mandate. These workers join thousands of other CUPE long term care workers who have voted overwhelmingly to strike in the past few months.

“As long term care workers, it’s become clear we’re reaching a breaking point,” explained CUPE 2330 President Betty Best. “We do everything we can so that our residents and their loved ones don’t see it, but that’s the reality. The cost of living keeps going up, the scope of our work keeps widening, and the mandatory overtime keeps rising. In fact, the only thing not going up is our wages and staffing levels.”

For years, CUPE, alongside other long term care unions, have been raising concerns around recruitment and retention issues in the sector. The physical demands of the job alongside low wages have meant that people often leave the sector for other health care positions or leave the province entirely for higher pay. The government has offered little in response, even going so far as to suggest staffing cuts in the most recent budget.

“This government proudly declared they were spending hundreds of millions of dollars on new long term care facilities but, in the same breath, suggested slashing grants and lowering staffing levels,” said CUPE Long Term Care Coordinator Tammy Martin. “How in the world does that make sense? Who are they expecting to staff these new facilities when the sector is already understaffed? Their priorities make no sense. Not to me, not to these workers, and, evidently, not to the public either.”

Though Houston’s government has since retracted their call to reduce long term care staffing by 3% this year, they have maintained the cut in future years while at the same time offering no real wage adjustments to these workers at the bargaining table.

“We, as workers, are struggling and we need the government to see that and listen. We don’t want to go on strike to show that, but we will,” finished Best.

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