According to the Ontario Government, temporary wage increases will be extended for personal support workers until October 31. This comes after more concerns of a devastating fourth wave of the novel coronavirus. In a news release today, the government claims to invest an additional $169 million in order to extend the program.
The program was implemented on October 1, 2020, for personal support workers and direct support workers. So far the province has renewed the program a total of three times. Premier Doug Ford said in July that he “guarantees” that this temporary change in wage would become permanent. He explained “I’ve always said folks, personal support workers are overworked, underpaid and theory deserve every single penny, times 10. So we’re going to keep that in place.”
Officials said the goal of the program is to stabilize staffing levels and support the front-line workers as the pandemic continues. The past week’s cases have been on the rise putting more pressure on personal support workers.
For more information about the source click HERE