Some disabled residents of Winnipeg facility 'stranded' as health-care aides begin strike
Some Ten Ten Sinclair Housing residents stuck in bed, 'lying in their own feces,' resident says
Lori Ross says she would have been stuck in bed until the afternoon on Wednesday if she hadn't called her sister for help.
Ross, 66, lives with polio and needs help to get up, use the bathroom and to get dressed.
"It's nothing complicated, but I can't do any of it if I don't have an attendant," she told CBC News on Wednesday afternoon.
Ross is one of 15 residents at Ten Ten Sinclair Housing's Fokus II apartment for people living with physical disabilities. There's usually six staff at the apartment to assist residents during the day and another four during the night, she said.
"And now, there's none."
About 160 workers with Ten Ten Sinclair Housing — which provides care to 100 residents in seven facilities across the city — went on strike at midnight Wednesday, saying they want higher wages from the non-profit.
The workers are mostly health-care aides represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees of Manitoba. The union says the strike is the largest in Manitoba's health-care system in more than a decade.
Those workers have had wage increases of less than two per cent since 2016, the union said in a Wednesday news release.
Lori says both the union and management dropped the ball, as she's never seen the facility left with no staff attending to residents in the 40 years she's lived there, leaving residents "stranded."
"There should have been arrangements made that you have at least a rotating shift that was coming in and out," she said.
'Inhumane conditions'
Ross says her sister has helped care for her since the strike began, but has also been going door-to-door at Fokus II to assist others.
"She's had to help people empty their leg bags, take their meds, get something to eat," she said.
"These are people who are normally independent, and because the staff is not here, they're stuck in bed, lying in their own feces."
Chris Ross, Lori's sister, said she was horrified by what she saw while helping other residents.
"They were so grateful … when they shouldn't be. This just should be an expected service," she told CBC News.
"It did bring me to tears. It was sad, because I've never seen such inhumane conditions. You're letting people lay in bed in their own urine and feces."
The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority provides operating funding to Ten Ten Sinclair, which includes funding for wages.
Debbie Van Ettinger, executive director of Ten Ten Sinclair Housing, told CBC News that wages for the non-profit's health-care aides is determined by the funding it receives from the provincial government and the WRHA.
Van Ettinger says the non-profit is disappointed about its workers going on strike and will continue to negotiate with the union to reach a solution as soon as possible.
WATCH | Health-care aides hit the picket line:
"It is the case that there are people right now without services and the WRHA is helping us pull that together," Van Ettinger said.
A WRHA spokesperson said Ten Ten Sinclair is solely responsible for bargaining with the union of its workers, in a Wednesday statement to CBC News.
The authority will work with Ten Ten Sinclair leadership once an agreement is reached to understand the financial requirements and their management plan.
"What is most important to us right now is that the clients of Ten Ten Sinclair are being cared for," the spokesperson said.
Community leadership from the WRHA has also been on site at Ten Ten Sinclair on Wednesday and is working with its leadership to make sure the non-profit can continue to provide services to its residents.
"This includes actively identifying Winnipeg Health Region staff who have the appropriate training to fill shifts for Ten Ten Sinclair wherever possible."
Gina McKay, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees of Manitoba, says the workers have been asking for higher wages amid inflation and passed a strike vote in September 2023.
She said Ten Ten Sinclair is responsible for finding care for its residents while the regular staff are on strike.
"It's up to the employer to find those solutions," McKay told CBC News at the picket line Wednesday.
Cameron Cole, a resident at Ten Ten Sinclair, was outside of the facility Wednesday to show his support for the striking workers.
He says the workers deserve higher pay for the work that they do.
"I'm proud to say that they're in my life and supporting me," he said.
"They're much more than workers."
Todd Norris, another resident who joined Cole outside the facility to show support, says the striking workers "treat you like family."
"Without them, I don't have much quality of life."
The province declined to comment since it involves an ongoing labour dispute.
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With files from Arturo Chang