Union members protest long-term care facility cuts in Glace Bay
The latest provincial budget included a 1 per cent cut to more than 100 long-term care facilities
More than two dozen people stood outside Minister Geoff MacLellan's office in Glace Bay, N.S., Wednesday rallying for an end to cuts in long-term care facilities.
It was one of several rallies held across the province by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and UNIFOR members Wednesday.
Facilities are starting to feel the one per cent cut for more than 100 long-term care sites that was announced in the last Nova Scotia budget.
Carrie Nash has worked as a continuing care assistant at Victoria Haven Nursing in Glace Bay for 20 years.
The nursing home has 52 residents and two respite beds. Some kitchen and maintenance staff there received layoff notices last week.
Staff cuts affect care
"We work as a whole in our building. We went from two cooks to one, so that will make for longer wait times for the residents," she said. "In our housekeeping department, we went from three and a half housekeepers to two and we are a large facility so now we will only have one housekeeper on each side, so the place will probably deteriorate quickly."
Nash describes the situation as sad.
"I, along with all these other workers, love our residents and we hate to see them suffer this way at this stage in their life," she said.
More cuts to come
Mae Smith, the vice president for CUPE is also an employee at Seaview Manor nursing home in Glace Bay.
They aren't hurting me, they are hurting long-term care, they are hurting the elderly.- Mae Smith
She says they haven't seen an impact from the cuts but anticipates they will soon.
"We don't know how the employers are going to deal with the cuts at Seaview Manor. If budget cuts do come to our facility, and I'm sure they will have to in some way or another, it may be to the staff," Smith said. "We pray the residents aren't affected but with $6 million gone in Nova Scotia and more cuts to come, how can they not be affected?"
Smith echoes Nash's sentiment that it's the residents who will suffer from the cuts to long-term care.
UNIFOR petition
"I just pray that the government of the day — the Liberal government, they just have to smarten up, this can't continue," she said. "They aren't hurting me, they are hurting long-term care, they are hurting the elderly, the people who already paid their dues to society. That's who's getting hurt here."
Both Nash and Smith say they have not yet spoken to Minister MacLellan. There was no one in his office at the time of the rally.
Nash encourages families affected by cuts to contact the MLA.
UNIFOR has also started a petition to stop the cuts to long-term care. The petition is available in all UNIFOR offices in Nova Scotia.