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Unifor members from long-term care homes across the province joined Atlantic Area Director Linda MacNeil on Monday in Halifax to present recommendations for the future of long-term care to the Expert Advisory Panel assembled by the province.
"Our members have valuable insights and experiences to share with this panel that will be making recommendations to address the crisis in long-term care," said Linda MacNeil, Unifor Atlantic Area Director. "We are hopeful the government will recognize the urgency of the situation in homes across the province and work with us and other stakeholders to address them."
In a formal submission, Unifor outlined three main recommendations to address issues of resident care, worker recruitment and retention:
Funding and staff
Chronic understaffing and inability to recruit and retain staff are symptoms of system-wide underfunding, deteriorating working conditions and low compensation for the workforce. There needs to be a commitment from the government to increase funding and staffing levels in the province.
Recruitment and retention
Unifor recommends the establishment of an advisory committee that will focus on recruitment and retention in the long-term care sector. This committee should be comprised of unions, employers, and educational and government stakeholders.
Implementation and accountability
Unifor recommends the Expert Advisory Panel be given a mandate to review the implementation of their recommendations over time.
The full submission to the Expert Advisory Panel can be downloaded here in PDF.
