Based on coverage from CBC, CTV News, SaltWire, and CityNews Halifax.
A growing long-term care strike in Nova Scotia is starting to show up in the day-to-day lives of residents and their families, even with essential service agreements in place.
Bette D. Wilcox, whose 84-year-old husband Ken lives at Ocean View Continuing Care Centre in Eastern Passage, told CBC News she’s seen a sharp drop in how residents are doing since the walkout began. She described late meals, food that looked “watered down,” laundry running short, and residents who seem lonely and unsettled. She also said her husband was found on the floor at one point, crawling to his wheelchair after it ended up outside his room.
Wilcox’s message to the public is blunt: don’t just honk for workers on the picket line. Call the provincial government and push for a deal.
Nova Scotia long-term care strike expands
CUPE represents workers at 52 long-term care facilities across Nova Scotia. The union issued a 48-hour strike notice on April 10, and more than 2,200 workers began walking off the job on April 13, according to CTV News.
The labour action has continued into a second week, and the number of affected sites is climbing. CUPE says at least 25 facilities were already affected, with more joining after additional strike notices. Several reports say the total could reach roughly 3,000 workers across about 30 locations if all locals follow through.
As of 7 a.m. on the day CUPE announced the latest escalation, the union said workers at four more homes were on the picket line: Grand View Manor (Berwick), Magnolia Continuing Care Centre (Enfield), Shiretown and Ivey’s Terrace Nursing Homes (Trenton), and Maple Hill Manor (New Waterford).
Resident care concerns at Ocean View
Wilcox told CBC she visits often and had always felt the staff were doing their best before the strike. Now, she worries basic routines are slipping. She described residents saying they were hungry, full plates being thrown out, and her husband avoiding meals despite usually enjoying the food.
She also said the loss of activities has taken a toll. With fewer staff available to help residents safely move around, volunteers can’t run programs, she said. That means no bingo, trivia, live music, or outings at the centre right now. Wilcox says her husband has become so lonely he calls daily hoping she’ll visit, and she’s noticed other residents “looking lost.”
Essential services and what gets cut
Each facility has an essential service agreement meant to keep basic care going. But on the picket line, continuing care assistant Peggy Murtha told CBC that “no showers” are happening, with staff limited to washing, cleaning, and feeding.
Other coverage, including The Canadian Press, similarly describes work continuing inside homes, but more slowly. CUPE long-term care co-ordinator Kim Cail said residents are still being fed and laundry is still being done, but it takes longer than usual with reduced staffing. The Canadian Press also reported that many physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and recreational therapists are not reporting to work during the strike.
Advocacy voices are warning the system was stretched even before the walkout. Gary MacLeod, founder of Advocates for the Care of the Elderly, told The Canadian Press that long-term care homes are often short-staffed at the best of times, and he supports higher wages for workers given their responsibilities.
Pay dispute and Nova Scotia government offer
The core fight is pay, with CUPE arguing workers are not earning a living wage. CUPE long-term and community care committee chair Christa Sweeney accused the province of dragging things out and said the union has been ready to bargain since reaching an impasse on March 24, but hasn’t been called back.
Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Barbara Adams has said the province’s offer is fair and matches an agreement accepted by acute care workers in 2023. Across the various reports, the province’s offer is described as wage increases of at least 12 per cent over four years, with some workers seeing up to 24 per cent, plus retroactive pay back to 2023 and a 70 per cent increase in shift and weekend premiums. CTV News also notes the deal would be a four-year agreement retroactive to 2023, meaning it would expire next year.
Union support grows across Atlantic Canada
Support is building beyond CUPE’s own lines. The Chronicle Herald reports the Nova Scotia Nurses’ Union donated $10,000 to support striking workers, with NSNU president Janet Hazelton pointing to the financial stress of going one or two weeks without pay.
CUPE also told the Herald that members from New Brunswick and P.E.I. are travelling to Halifax for a rally, adding to pressure as more homes join the strike and families like Wilcox’s describe what they’re seeing inside care centres.
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