‘Three paid sick days is not enough’: Chartwell Oakville workers hold rally

“Working while ill is never a good idea,” workers at Chartwell Waterford Retirement Residence in Oakville said in a statement.

“But with only three paid sick days a year, that is the unfortunate reality.”

Registered practical nurses, dietary aides, housekeepers, and other workers part of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 1404 are holding a rally on Tuesday, demanding more paid sick leave.

According to the statement from CUPE, retirement home staff generally have lower wages and benefits than staff working in long-term care.

President of CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, Michael Hurley, says employees of the Oakville Waterford Chartwell location are experiencing the low-end of that statistic.

“Even by the low wage and benefit standards in the retirement home sector, the staff at Chartwell Waterford are at the bottom of the pack in both wages and paid sick days,” he said.

The CUPE statement also says in addition to the fact that these workers are only afforded three paid sick days, they are “among the lowest paid working at comparable retirement residences.”

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