Front line workers have been crucial in the province’s effort to flatten the curve of COVID-19. Among this group of essential workers are those working in the health care sector. Sadly, the joint federal-provincial wage supplement announced in late April has left most health care workers ineligible to receive it. 

The criteria for workers to receive this top up includes earning less than $25,000 per annum, being employed in licensed private senior care homes or childcare facilities, being employed in emergency or transition shelters, or being employed in group homes run by community-based organizations. 

The Service Employees International Union West has created a petition in an effort to extend this wage supplement to many more health care workers across the province. If you wish to support SEIU workers and sign the petition in solidarity, you can do so here.