Higher mileage rates, better financial incentives would add 100 home-care workers, Manitoba NDP vows
Mileage rates would be in line with Canada Revenue Agency, new batch of financial incentives promised
Debbie Boissonneault, president of Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 204, is convinced higher mileage rates and new financial incentives would bring home-care workers back into the fold.
The head of the union representing Manitoba's home-care workers nodded her head emphatically when a reporter asked if the NDP could follow through on its pledge to hire 100 additional home-care workers if elected in October.
"I hear from members all the time if they got proper mileage and proper benefits, which they haven't gotten out of this current government, that they would stay in the program," Boissonneault said.
"This is a big incentive that will keep them in their jobs."
On Sunday, NDP Leader Wab Kinew was joined by a few dozen seniors at the Notre Dame Recreational Centre as he pledged to improve a home-care system in which 80,000 Winnipeg-area visits — fewer than five per cent of the total visits — were cancelled in the first four months of 2023.
If elected, Kinew said the NDP would increase the mileage rate from the current $0.45 to $0.68, which aligns with the 2023 rate from the Canada Revenue Agency. He argued some workers are losing money from driving frequently and the high cost of gas.
Kinew expects this higher rate to cost $3 million annually. Mileage rates would continue to rise with the cost of living, he said.
He also said $2 million would be spent every year toward a suite of financial incentives that'll help with recruiting and retaining workers. The exact type and value of those incentives would be determined through negotiations with the union and workers, Kinew said.
Kinew believes the NDP could re-hire 100 workers from those who've quit their jobs.
"You still have that pool of health-care workers who have the expertise, in some cases have the relationship with the same patients that we're talking about, and they simply were forced out of the system because they're losing money due to inadequate pay and inadequate compensation for mileage," Kinew said.
A NDP government would strive to hire more workers beyond its initial target, he said.
Home-care time more limited
Cherrlyn Thomson, a senior speaking at the NDP's announcement, said home-care staff used to have time to get to know their patients.
With her mother, they'd paint her nails, make meals together and talk about their lives. It's something her mother appreciated before she died, Thomson said.
Under the Progressive Conservatives, she said, staff are only spending 10 minutes at the homes of her friends before rushing off to their next appointment.
"They don't even have time to provide for all of my friend's basic needs, let alone the companionship … that used to be provided."
On the final day the PC government could make funding commitments before the pre-election blackout took effect in August, the Tories announced it would extend various financial health-care incentives to 25,000 more workers, including home-care staff. They're now eligible for weekend shift premiums and a wellness incentive.