Corporate giant Revera is clawing back mileage rates from home care PSWs, potentially jeopardizing the province’s workforce stabilization plan. Photo: http://www.canstockphoto.com
Home and residential care giant Revera say they are proud to support Ontario’s wage stabilization initiative for personal support workers (PSWs). Now that their home care workers have received the $1.50/hr wage increase, the corporation is telling the non-union portion of their workforce they are clawing back 8 cents per kilometre in compensation for travel between clients. In other words, they wanted government to pick up the bill for improved wage compensation so they could trash travel compensation for the same employees. That may not be what Health Minister Eric Hoskins had in mind with the Ministry’s workforce stabilization plan.
For some workers, the Revera claw back on mileage could eclipse the wage increase, leaving the government no further ahead in improving compensation to stem the tide of PSW departures. The turnover rate for PSWs in Ontario’s home care sector is 60 per cent – or the entire workforce in less than two years. That, by any standards, does not represent good continuity of care. Given Revera professes their number one goal is to help their clients, this gives every appearance they are more concerned about helping their profits.
A $1.50 per hour increase would total $52.50 before deductions on a 35 hour week – that’s slightly more than most PSWs would receive in paid hours. The loss of 8 cents per kilometre means that the wage increase would be wiped out if the worker drives more than 656 kilometer in a week – a cumulative distance not that uncommon particularly in more rural settings. Further, the company is not reimbursing on actual kilometres travelled, but based on the “optimal” route using Google Maps. Better not divert for gas, a Tim’s coffee or to avoid traffic and construction through an alternate route.
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