ONTARIO
Essex Community Living support staff want an end to long overtime hours"We're working 50, 60, 70 hours a week just to earn a livable wage."
CBC
Tue, February 6, 2024
Community Living Essex supports about 700 people across the county and has around 640 direct support workers. (Google Maps - image credit)
Disability support worker Amanda Hodgkins says a "staffing crisis" at Community Living Essex County has her "pretty close" to her breaking point.
In June 2022, Hodgkins says she worked 35 hours straight at her designated group home as there were no other staff members who could relieve her. She says she was given no notice that she'd be required to work multiple consecutive shifts and that she missed out on her kids' end-of-year soccer tournament.
"We have a passion to create change in the lives of people we support, but we are not being acknowledged or appreciated and we don't have that work-life balance," she said.
"We're working 50, 60, 70 hours a week just to earn a livable wage."
Throughout her work day, Hodgkins helps people with mental, developmental or learning disabilities manage their medications, develop relationships and take part in community activities.
Amanda Hodgkins is a direct support worker at Community Living Essex County. She says that in June 2022 she worked 35 hours due to poor staffing.
Amanda Hodgkins is a direct support worker at Community Living Essex County. She says that in June 2022 she worked 35 hours due to poor staffing. (Submitted by Amanda Hodgkins)
Hodgkins says it's not uncommon for her and her colleagues to work multiple shifts in a row, as there might not be any staff to fill in for ones who call in sick. When no additional staff are available, she says their workload also significantly increases.
The union that represents workers like Hodgkins, CUPE local 3137, is currently in bargaining with Community Living Essex County to secure a contract. The local president Paul Brennan told CBC News that the issue of staff working long hours is a "persistent" one that they are looking to address.
"You might not have brought any toiletries and found out you're stuck for the night, you might be working at a location that is a little further out and you don't have enough meals to carry you to the next, so yeah [working long hours] is very disruptive in our members' lives," said Brennan.
Community Living Essex County's executive director, Karen Bolger, told CBC News that Hodgkins working 35 hours is "totally against what we do."
"We don't want that to happen, we feel horrible that it did happen to that employee. We don't find it's safe or it's good for anybody," said Bolger.
She added that at the time this took place several of their homes had been in COVID-19 outbreaks, which might be why some staff were unable to come in to work.
Bolger says they have on-call employees who can fill in, but she added that the organization is looking to "beef up" that list.
Recruitment challenges
During the pandemic, Bolger says quite a few staff members left the organization. Since then, she says its been difficult to hire new people.
"Recruitment is a significant issue for developmental service organizations across the province and our organization we have dedicated substantial human and financial resources to recruiting new employees," she said.
She says Community Living Essex County has about 640 unionized direct support workers who help care for about 700 people with developmental disabilities across the county.
CBC
Tue, February 6, 2024
Community Living Essex supports about 700 people across the county and has around 640 direct support workers. (Google Maps - image credit)
Disability support worker Amanda Hodgkins says a "staffing crisis" at Community Living Essex County has her "pretty close" to her breaking point.
In June 2022, Hodgkins says she worked 35 hours straight at her designated group home as there were no other staff members who could relieve her. She says she was given no notice that she'd be required to work multiple consecutive shifts and that she missed out on her kids' end-of-year soccer tournament.
"We have a passion to create change in the lives of people we support, but we are not being acknowledged or appreciated and we don't have that work-life balance," she said.
"We're working 50, 60, 70 hours a week just to earn a livable wage."
Throughout her work day, Hodgkins helps people with mental, developmental or learning disabilities manage their medications, develop relationships and take part in community activities.
Amanda Hodgkins is a direct support worker at Community Living Essex County. She says that in June 2022 she worked 35 hours due to poor staffing.
Amanda Hodgkins is a direct support worker at Community Living Essex County. She says that in June 2022 she worked 35 hours due to poor staffing. (Submitted by Amanda Hodgkins)
Hodgkins says it's not uncommon for her and her colleagues to work multiple shifts in a row, as there might not be any staff to fill in for ones who call in sick. When no additional staff are available, she says their workload also significantly increases.
The union that represents workers like Hodgkins, CUPE local 3137, is currently in bargaining with Community Living Essex County to secure a contract. The local president Paul Brennan told CBC News that the issue of staff working long hours is a "persistent" one that they are looking to address.
"You might not have brought any toiletries and found out you're stuck for the night, you might be working at a location that is a little further out and you don't have enough meals to carry you to the next, so yeah [working long hours] is very disruptive in our members' lives," said Brennan.
Community Living Essex County's executive director, Karen Bolger, told CBC News that Hodgkins working 35 hours is "totally against what we do."
"We don't want that to happen, we feel horrible that it did happen to that employee. We don't find it's safe or it's good for anybody," said Bolger.
She added that at the time this took place several of their homes had been in COVID-19 outbreaks, which might be why some staff were unable to come in to work.
Bolger says they have on-call employees who can fill in, but she added that the organization is looking to "beef up" that list.
Recruitment challenges
During the pandemic, Bolger says quite a few staff members left the organization. Since then, she says its been difficult to hire new people.
"Recruitment is a significant issue for developmental service organizations across the province and our organization we have dedicated substantial human and financial resources to recruiting new employees," she said.
She says Community Living Essex County has about 640 unionized direct support workers who help care for about 700 people with developmental disabilities across the county.
Karen Bolger is the executive director at Community Living Essex County.
(Jennifer La Grassa/CBC)
Bolger says that the organization is mostly funded through the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. The ministry provided them with $38.7 million for their 2023/2024 budget, says Bolger.
She says that there hasn't been a base funding increase since 2008, and that her and other organizations under Community Living Ontario are calling for a five per cent base budget increase to help with inflating operational costs.
Getting this additional funding, says Bolger, would then allow the organization to allocate more money to wages.
In an email to CBC News Monday, the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services said that it recognizes "the concerns of the sector and the impact on workers, and we acknowledge that these challenges can impact the support provided to those who depend on our services."
For 2023/2024, the government said it is investing $3.4 billion in developmental services, which is an increase of $841 million over 2018/2019.
It said it's also working on helping the sector with recruitment and retention strategies.
Workers have been without contract for nearly 1 year
Workers with the organization have also been without a contract since March 2023.
Bolger says that the earliest the union could meet was five months after the contract had expired in August. She didn't want to get into the specifics of the contract, but says bargaining is going well and she'll be meeting with the union again later this month.
CUPE local 3137 told CBC News that higher wages and getting stuck at work are two main issues the union is discussing.
According to Brennan, the collective agreement doesn't allow workers to collect overtime unless they've been working more than 14 consecutive hours.
He says he hopes to have a contract by the end of the month.
Bolger says that the organization is mostly funded through the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. The ministry provided them with $38.7 million for their 2023/2024 budget, says Bolger.
She says that there hasn't been a base funding increase since 2008, and that her and other organizations under Community Living Ontario are calling for a five per cent base budget increase to help with inflating operational costs.
Getting this additional funding, says Bolger, would then allow the organization to allocate more money to wages.
In an email to CBC News Monday, the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services said that it recognizes "the concerns of the sector and the impact on workers, and we acknowledge that these challenges can impact the support provided to those who depend on our services."
For 2023/2024, the government said it is investing $3.4 billion in developmental services, which is an increase of $841 million over 2018/2019.
It said it's also working on helping the sector with recruitment and retention strategies.
Workers have been without contract for nearly 1 year
Workers with the organization have also been without a contract since March 2023.
Bolger says that the earliest the union could meet was five months after the contract had expired in August. She didn't want to get into the specifics of the contract, but says bargaining is going well and she'll be meeting with the union again later this month.
CUPE local 3137 told CBC News that higher wages and getting stuck at work are two main issues the union is discussing.
According to Brennan, the collective agreement doesn't allow workers to collect overtime unless they've been working more than 14 consecutive hours.
He says he hopes to have a contract by the end of the month.
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