Health department increases wages for home support workers

Home support workers will receive an increase in pay effective June 1 as a result of decisions made in Budget 2001. Acting Minister of Health and Community Services, Gerald Smith, said today that government is providing funding for increased wages for home support workers. Effective today, self-managed home support workers will receive the first of two pay increases this year, which will see their hourly pay rise to $7.01 by December 2001. Pay increases for home support workers who are employed by an agency will be made available in the near future, and will be retroactive to June 1, 2001.

Minister Smith said government is pleased to respond to the compensation concerns expressed by home support workers by providing $4.8 million annually toward wage increases. "We believe this funding will stabilize the workforce, and provide the kind of support requested by home support workers for some time now. This is an important step in enhancing the Home Support Program overall."

The wages for home support workers will increase from $5.84 per hour to $7.01 per hour, a 20 per cent increase. The increase blends the lowest and middle rates.

Government will provide the required funding to support the increase to self-managed home care workers through the home support clients who directly hire and compensate their workers. Self-managed home care workers will receive this raise in two installments. Today, home support workers will receive 70 per cent of the increase, or $0.82 per hour, to bring wages to $6.66 per hour. The remainder will be provided on December 1, 2001.

Government will also be providing sufficient funds to home support agencies to increase worker wages on the same phased-in basis as self-managed workers. Extensive discussions have been held with the agencies over the past several months to determine how the wage increase will be provided to the workers through the agencies. Those discussions are continuing and government is fully committed to delivering on the wage increase. Funds will soon be transferred to the agencies to provide the increase to the workers, retroactive to June 1, 2001.

Government currently spends $43 million annually for the Home Support Program, which provides services for approximately 2,700 seniors and people with developmental and physical disabilities.

Media contact: Carmel Turpin, (709) 729-1377.

2001 06 01                                           2:15 p.m.