Defend Public Healthcare

Ontario hospital workers are much less absent due to illness or disability than hospital workers Canada-wide.  In 2014, Ontario hospital workers were absent 10.2 days due to illness or disability,  2.9 days less than the Canada wide average – i.e . 22% less.   In fact, Ontario hospital workers have had consistently fewer sick days for years. This is also true if absences due to family or personal responsibilities are included. Statistics Canada data for the last fifteen years for Canada and Ontario are reported in the chart below, showing Ontario hospital workers are consistently off work less. Assuming, Ontario accounts for about 38% of the Canada-wide hospital workforce, these figures suggest that the days lost due to illness of injury in Canada excluding Ontario are about 13.6 days per year ([13.6 x 0.68] + [10.2 x 0.38] = 13.1). In other words, hospital workers in the rest of Canada are absent from work due to illness or disability 1/3 more than Ontario

New Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)   data   paints a picture of rapid change in nursing in Ontario, especially for Practical Nurses (called "RPNs" in Ontario and "LPNs" elsewhere) .   Here is a summary of the most interesting data from those charts concerning Ontario.     Note: The rapid increase in the Ontario RPN workforce (52.3% increase since 2005, and 5.6% in 2014) The rapidly increasing ratio of RPNs to RNs: Working RPNs are now at 38.1% of the number of working RNs in Ontario, up from only 27.3% only a decade ago While growth is much less marked, the RN workforce does continue to increase in Ontario – 9.2% since 2005 and 1.6% in 2014 alone The very rapid increase in RPNs who graduated from college within the last ten years The declining average age of RPNs and the increasing age of RNs The percentage of “full time” employment (as defined by the employer) increased for RNs but was fairly

Funding increase hits new low: The Ontario government plans health sector spending growth of 1.2% this year compared with the interim spending estimate for 2014/15.   This deepens the trend to cut health care funding increases. ($000s) 2005-6 2006-7 2007-8 2008-9 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012–13 Actual 2013–14 Interim 2014–15 Plan 2015–16 Health and Long-Term Care 32,947 35,655 38,118 40,734 43,054 44,414 46,491 47,571 48,933 50,173 50,771 % Increase 4.0% 8.2% 6.9% 6.9% 5.7% 3.2% 4.7% 2.3% 2.9% 2.5% 1.2% The average increase over the last four years is 2.2%.  Over the previous six years, funding increases averaged 5.9%, well more than double the more recent average.  This year's plan of 1.2% is a new low.  In 2011, the then Auditor General noted that various factor

New militancy : Recent strikes in the broader provincial public sector by 13,000 university teaching assistants and Community Care Access Centre employees (mostly RNs) suggest increased willingness of some broader public sector employees to strike to maintain and improve their working conditions.  Moreover the workers achieved some success in their strikes.  In the health care sector, the Health Minister, Eric Hoskins, felt it necessary to publicly call for the negotiations to be settled by interest arbitration.  Shortly after this, a leading arbitrator awarded both of the proposals (wage proposals) demanded by the union. Both of the recent Teaching Assistant strikes at York and the University of Toronto put paid to the government's idea of "net zero" compensation increases, at least in the university sector, as the strikes made progress for those workers. Provincially coordinated teacher strikes are now underway to deal with the government's demands as well.