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Ten days into a strike by some unionized long-term care workers in Nova Scotia, both residents and family members say the job action is taking its toll.
Tina Maxwell, whose 76-year-old mother is a resident at the Ocean View Continuing Care Centre in Eastern Passage, says her mother has waited two weeks for a shower.
As well, her mother and fellow residents have been receiving their meals late, have lost access to recreational activities and are sleeping in dirty sheets.
“It’s going to take a greater toll on my mother and her co-residents, as well as the temporary staff that are in there trying to laboriously perform the functions of the jobs that they’re probably not even aware of,” Maxwell said.
Maxwell lives outside the province, so checking in on her mother isn’t easy. She says she’s noticed her mother’s mood has suffered “with nothing to look forward to.”
“I can’t do those things. So I’m completely reliant on the care team. And those care teams are just not there right now.”
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‘It’s unfair to them’
Picketing CUPE employees outside the Glasgow Hall nursing home in Dartmouth on Thursday say they, too, are growing worried about their patients’ well-being in their absence.
“They’re bored in the building. They’re seeing the difference and it’s unfair to them,” said Emilie Carter, a continuing care assistant.
About 3,000 workers represented by CUPE are now on strike across the province. Five more homes are set to join them by the end of the week.
The striking workers include continuing care assistants, licensed practical nurses and support service providers, such as dietary and laundry staff.
The agreement between the province and CUPE-represented workers expired in 2023. Talks between the union and province reached an impasse in March and neither party has returned to the bargaining table since.
“None of us like being on strike. We want to be in there with our residents and be able to take care of them.”
Long-term care residents are still receiving care from non-unionized staff under the province’s essential care agreement.
But Cathy Spike, a resident at Bissett Court in Dartmouth, says the support is lacking and residents are suffering.
“If essential services were being done daily, there would be showers being done. We would have some sort of activities for residents to do. They would have exercises,” she said.
“There’s no physio here when the strike is happening.”
Minister responds
Barbara Adams, Nova Scotia’s long-term care minister, has said the government’s four-year offer would increase the wages of some workers by 24 per cent.
She also said the offer comes with retroactive pay back to 2023 and contains a 70 per cent increase in shift and weekend premiums. There’s also new funding to expand the number of workers eligible to enrol in a defined benefit pension plan.
On Thursday, Adams reiterated her stance.
“There are no talks scheduled. We are expecting CUPE to take the offer to their members and to allow them to have a say,” she said.
Meanwhile, Maxwell said she’s reached out to the minister with her concerns, too, but hasn’t heard back. She is “imploring” the minister to return to the bargaining table.
“And offer the union, the members, a fair living wage, because they are an integral part of the nursing home system,” Maxwell said.
“Like these are the bread and butter. These people are wonderful, and they need to get back to work.”
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