Ten Ten Sinclair residents relieved, but want change as weeks-long strike ends
Better safeguards needed in case of future care disruptions, man who was stuck in wheelchair for 24 hours says
Some tenants of a non-profit that provides care for disabled people are relieved that workers there are no longer on strike — but they want more say in their care and support.
About 160 health-care workers with Ten Ten Sinclair Housing, which provides care to 100 residents in seven facilities across Winnipeg, voted in favour of a new deal on Friday. Workers had been without a contract for four years, their union, the Canadian Union of Public Employees Manitoba, had said.
The strike began March 6, and left some residents stranded or uncertain about the care they were going to receive. Some residents were critical of Ten Ten Sinclair's response to the strike.
"They weren't prepared at all," said resident Tyler Barrett, 33, who lives with cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. He's been living at Ten Ten Sinclair's Fokus IV apartment block on Garry Street since 2011.
"They've known since at least September that they could go on strike at any time … They should have been working on it."
The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority activated an incident command structure — which is used to organize emergency response efforts — in partnership with the non-profit the day after the strike, a spokesperson for the health authority said. Agency staff also helped to fill schedules and shifts for health-care aides and nurses.
But Barrett said not being cared for by the person you're used to can be challenging.
"I've worked with them obviously for a long time, right? So they know my routine, my schedule and I don't have to explain everything and make sure that they're understanding what I need," he told CBC News on Sunday.
"Everything works more smoothly when it's somebody that we've worked with before."
The strike also left Barrett struggling to receive any care at all. He said he was stuck in his wheelchair for 24 hours starting on the first day of the strike, despite being told someone would be coming to his home to help him.
"I had called the executive director all day the day prior while I was in my chair asking if there was going to be care at 12:00, and she had assured me that there was," he said. "They didn't show up until 11:30 the next day."
Apology not enough, resident says
Myles Taylor also lives in the Fokus IV apartment block on Garry Street and said the last two weeks felt like five years for him — especially because he was never sure when service would arrive to help, despite the efforts made to get everyone's daily schedule.
Taylor said he's grateful to the WRHA and other agencies that stepped up to help, and said residents in the building always supported the regular onsite staff. However, Taylor said he feels let down by some members of of Ten Ten Sinclair's board of directors.
"They absolutely failed us in their handling of, the lead up and the beginnings of the strike," he said.
He also said an apology from management might not be enough to rectify the situation.
"I understand the tight position they were in in terms of negotiation and all the obstacles they had in front of them regarding negotiation," he said. "But that does not excuse the abysmal failure of the rolling out of safety net care and contingency care."
A March 14 letter sent to residents and signed by Ten Ten Sinclair executive director Debbie Van Ettinger stated efforts to minimize care disruptions were underway. Van Ettinger said in the letter that "we know the ongoing strike has directly impacted your daily routines and recognize that this is a concerning and frustrating situation for you and your loved ones."
The letter also said the priority was to "to ensure a safe continuity of attendant care for all tenants and as a result of the current circumstances, some changes to daily routines and schedules are necessary to make that possible." It said updates would be provided on the situation when available.
However, Taylor said he feels he wasn't given any substantial updates on the strike until it was basically over.
Staff returning
Lori Ross, who lives at the Fokus II block on Kennedy Street, said her care was also disrupted during the strike.
"You didn't know from one day to the next who was walking in your door," she said on Sunday.
"It's not the same person going to come in and get you dressed, see you naked in bed."
One time, she called one of her sisters to come help her out of bed because the worker who showed up to help her in the morning was a man. The worker who has been helping her for years is a woman.
"I'm not having a male who I've never met coming to get me up. It's personal care, and I'm not doing that," she said.
"If my sister hadn't been here, I wouldn't have been able to get out of bed."
Both Ross and Barrett also noted a language barrier between some staff and residents, which can make it difficult for residents to explain what they need.
They both said residents should have more say in how the facilities are run.
"We find out at midnight that the staff are leaving and that's it. And we were told everything was taken care of and that was not true," said Ross.
For Barrett, this means having some control over the workers that get hired so that residents know they will be comfortable with them being in their homes.
Ten Ten Sinclair's website says it's committed to "consumer control" over residents' living situations, Ross noted. But she says that's not so much the case since the pandemic hit.
"Everyone was so afraid of what was going on. We just gave up. We stopped fighting. We stopped saying 'No, this isn't right,'" she said.
Ross said she wants residents to be more involved again, and thinks they should have been consulted when the strike hit.
"We don't want to be seen as vulnerable … But when you take out this component, we end up being stuck, and I mean stuck in the worst possible way."
The new agreement includes a memorandum of understanding to continue discussions between CUPE, Ten Ten Sinclair and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, which provides operating funding to the non-profit, on the facilities' status within the WRHA.
Regular staff will be back on the job at 12 a.m. Monday, Ross said.
CBC News has contacted Ten Ten Sinclair's executive director for comment.
WATCH: Disabled residents 'stranded' as health-care aides begin strike
With files from Erin Brohman and Gavin Axelrod