Most incumbent Peel councillors, mayors disappoint on commitment to better resident care at regional LTC homes

MISSISSAUGA, ON –/COMMUNITYWIRE/– With the municipal vote this coming Monday, CUPE 966 asked all regional council incumbents including the mayors about their commitment to better long-term care at Peel’s municipal homes. 

“As workers in long-term care, or as residents of Peel with ageing parents, relatives and friends in the community needing supports as they age, CUPE 966 members have a strong stake in the quality of resident care at Peel’s long-term care homes,” said Salil Arya, president of CUPE 966.

CUPE 966 represents more than 3,000 municipal workers in the Region of Peel, including about 800 long-term care front-line staff at the Region’s four municipal nursing homes.

The union asked incumbents if they supported the following three basic principles that would enhance quality of care (and working conditions) in long-term care homes:

• A minimum of 4-hours of daily care per resident (as recommended by numerous academic studies);
• Prioritizing full-time employment for staff;
• Workforce stability to enable better resident care.

CUPE 966 was optimistic that a majority of Peel Regional Councillors would respond and show strong support for long-term care. However, only five Peel Councillors affirmed their commitment to these principles.

“Who wouldn’t want to show support for improving the lives of residents and making long-term care in Peel, better?” Arya said. “As it turns out, not many do unfortunately.”

“We are very disappointed with the lack of interest in such an important issue. We believe that Peel Region should be a leader in better resident care. However, we are heartened to see that some incumbents share our vision to improve long-term care,” Arya said.

For the others on Peel council who did not respond, CUPE 966 has a message: “you can and should do better if you are re-elected.”

As for Peel Region LTC staff “we will continue to advocate for provincial funding to ensure that a four-hour care standard becomes a reality, that more workers have full-time status, which will stabilize the workforce and result in improved resident care. Whoever wins a seat in Monday’s municipal vote, will be hearing from us on Tuesday,” Arya said.

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For more information, please contact:

Stella Yeadon, CUPE Communications, 416-559-9300, syeadon@cupe.ca
Zaid Noorsumar, CUPE Communications, 647-995-9859, znoorsumar@cupe.ca