DEJA BULL ROSS!

VOCM
Home Care Workers Concerns Being Addressed; Wiseman
June 28, 2009

The province's Health Minister, Ross Wiseman, says NAPE's concerns about progress in home care in the province are being addressed by the government. NAPE President Carol Furlong, at their Annual General Meeting this week, says they are waiting for government action on the report submitted last year. Wiseman says the province was moving on home care issues prior to that and have made significant investments in that sector. He says they increased capacity and investments in adjusting assessments for those using home care and also salary adjustments for workers, including one in July and another in 2010. Minister Wiseman says the notion that government's focus is only on the petroleum industry at the expense of other areas, such as home care, is not an accurate one. Wiseman says nothing could be further from the truth. In the last several budgets the government has made significant investments in home care and the care of seniors.

* I would like to know why the increase was not retroactive to April 1st.2009?

Wiseman is only applying Band- Aid solutions to Home Care.Wiseman,like previous Health Ministers just cannot grasp what Home Care does for this Province.

Eastern Health will be offering T-Shirts to all who use the system and survive. The T-Shirts will be available some time next year after a study is carried out on which would be more feasible to sell, T-Shirts or Hoodies. A recent attempt on selling the items had been canceled because the manufacturer had spelled Eastern Health wrong. When asked about the mistake, Minister Wiseman replied it was simply "Human Error."

VOCM NEWS:
Homecare Workers Not Impressed
March 27, 2009

A lukewarm reception this morning for the minister of health at a homecare conference in St.John's. Home care workers are angry and say they want more action. Ross Wiseman addressed the homecare conference on the heels of the provincial budget. Workers got a raise of $1.71 an hour in yesterday's budget. The minister says that's just a first step in what he hopes will be a widening gap between the pay earned by homecare workers and those at the bottom of the scale, minimum wage earners. NAPE president Carol Furlong says they need an uinfusion of cash and that earning just over minimum wage just won't cut it.

Homecare workers might as well face it. It will be impossible to get ahead while Ross Wiseman is in that position. McDonalds must be giving this guy free lunches for the recruitment he has done for them.

The Telegram: January 22-2009

Raise salaries for home care workers, NAPE demands


The province has to start showing more respect for home-care workers and take action to increase salaries, says Carol Furlong, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE).
Otherwise, she said, the home care industry could collapse because of a shortage of workers.
“The minister announced late last year that a government report on home care would be released in the fall and months later it still isn’t ready. This is unacceptable,” Furlong said.
The report was to have dealt with, among other things, salaries and benefits for home care workers, Furlong explained.
In the absence of the report, Furlong added, the government should maintain the differential in the minimum wage back to Jan. 1, when the minimum wage was increased.
“That increase was promised but has yet to be aid out to home-care workers,” she said.

A question for the Wiseman?

Earlier in the year you said a review of the home-care system should be released this fall. Just a few days to Winter and still no sign of it. We know Home-care in NL has never been a big priority of yours but you did promise a release in the Fall.

Federation of Labour Backs Home Care Workers
November 5, 2008

Home care workers now have the backing of the entire labour movement. Delegates to the Federation of Labour convention in Gander have overwhelmingly endorsed a call from NAPE president Carol Furlong to support NAPE in its campaign to increase wages and benefits for home care workers. Furlong says it's shameful that workers in that sector earn little more than the minimum wage. Without changes, Furlong fears that the home care industry will cease to exist. She says even now,agencies cannot find enough workers to meet the demand. Furlong feels Newfoundland and Labrador's new status as a 'have' province should be reflected in the wages the province pays home care workers.

Carol Furlong: “The current wage and benefit package provides no incentive to recruit workers into the home care industry. If some positive steps are not taken soon to pay workers a respectable wage, I fear the argument will be redundant as the home care industry will likely be non-existent. Supply and demand is a real issue. Even the agencies are saying they cannot find enough workers to meet the demand.”

“It is shameful that in a province experiencing unprecedented wealth, those who dedicate their working careers to caring for the people who built this province make little more than minimum wage.”

Maybe it's time to take a step further and have the Home Care workers and clients who support them go to the Confederation Building for a day of protest. Maybe Ross will look out the window and see a crisis.

Williams to shuffle cabinet

Saturday, October 25, 2008 | 2:15 PM NT

CBC News

Premier Danny Williams will shuffle his cabinet sometime in the next two weeks.

He didn't say how big the shakeup would be, but Opposition leader Yvonne Jones said the premier needs to make some big changes to his inner circle.

The Liberal leader even has a list of changes she would like Williams to make.

"There's lots of people inside that cabinet that need to be shuffled right out the door in my opinion. One of those is in the Department of Health. One is in the Department of Education."

It isn't clear if Williams will heed that advice and remove Health Minister Ross Wiseman or Education Minister Joan Burke from cabinet.

The premier has said he will make finding a full-time fisheries minister a priority. Trevor Taylor has been acting in that role ever since Tom Rideout resigned last May.

"We do need a fisheries minister and of course if there's going to be any altering of portfolios as well, you want to make sure that these ministers have a chance to get in their portfolios, get briefed, up to speed, and are ready to answer questions in the house and obviously perform their duties as ministers. So, the sooner the better, but hopefully within a fortnight or 10 days we should be able to get it done," said Williams.

The house of assembly is set to reopen at the end of November. That would give the new ministers two or three weeks to brush up on their files.

Thousands of Home care workers and clients are hoping for a new Health Minister! Hopefully one that actually knows we must have a change in the Home care system in NL. Mr. Wiseman simply just shrugged it off by claiming no crisis existed.

Can't compete with McDonald's for home-care workers, employers say

CBC NEWS

Newfoundland and Labrador home-care workers can do something simple to earn more than the wages that industry leaders call an embarrassment: flip hamburgers.

Home-care workers paid by the provincial government earn only $9.66 an hour — without benefits, and despite years of experience.

An informal review by CBC News found that the salaries for the workers, some of whom are responsible for keeping their clients alive by tending to daily needs, pale compared to unskilled jobs.

For instance, some workers at St. John's-area McDonald's restaurants — which have been recruiting heavily and have been promoting a roster of benefits to lure people to fill staffing shortages — earn more than $10 per hour.

Entry-level security guards make $9.50 per hour, while call-centre employees start at $9.25.

"It is really time — it's completely time — for an overhaul of the home-care system," said Anne Whelan, who manages Caregivers, a home-care agency in the St. John's area.

Agency owner Anne Whelan said it's time to overhaul the system. (CBC)

While Whelan is responsible for recruiting staff, her pay rates are dictated by what the Newfoundland and Labrador government is prepared to spend.

"What would be a reasonable wage for a skilled home support worker doing the scope of work that we regularly get asked to do? It would be much more comparable to a [personal care attendant] in a hospital, $14 or $15 an hour," she told CBC News.

Home-care agencies continually lose workers, who often can earn better pay — for work that is much less stressful — at fast food outlets, call centres and other businesses.

The provincial government increased spending in this spring's budget, but advocates say it has done little address a growing need.

Price to be paid?

Carol Furlong, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Private Employees, said unless there are substantial changes, a higher price will have to be paid than higher wages.

"We have a very serious concern that because of the low compensation package they're going to find that there's not going to be anyone to do those jobs," said Furlong, adding she is also concerned that most home-care workers are women.

"We shudder to think that it is because of the gender issue that the wages are so low, but that is the reality of the situation, as far as we're concerned," Furlong said in an interview.

Health Minister Ross Wiseman has said a review of the home-care system should be released this fall.

That surprised Whelan, who said providers "really need to be consulted" before any decisions are made.

Maybe it's time for someone such as NAPE to organize a province wide walkout of Home Care workers or a large demonstration?

Now, i'm not sure of the accuracy on this one but here's my Math. If i'm wrong please step in and tell me.
Yesterday on CBC's Here & Now we saw yet another story on Home Care in NL and like the rest it was about injustice. Angie Clarke, a single mom with two daughters,age 3 and 8 has cerebral palsy and needs home care to bring a decent life to her children. Ms. Clarke had been receiving 56 hours per week. Recently home care workers received a raise of .50 per hour bringing their total to $9.29 per hour. This would of cost $28 more per week on the system. Those in charge decided not only to cut back but do so and actually make it look like a profit. Ms. Clarke's hours have been cut from 56 to 44. So if i'm wrong on my Math,please correct me. I will appreciate it.

At 56 hours per week it would of cost $520.24 with the raise.
cutting back to 44 hours the cost is now $408.76
that's a savings of $111.48 but minus the $28.00 increase with the raise it would be $83.48 ????

Did Ross make a profit on the suffering of this poor lady and her home support worker or not?

There you have it! It's official.

Doctors Careless with Word
July 14, 2008

The minister of health is accusing the association which represents doctors of being opportunistic and creating a false impression of a crisis. Ross Wiseman wants the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association to quit using the word "crisis" when focusing on a particular community, region or medical field. On VOCM Open Line with Randy Simms this morning, Wiseman said the association is laying the groundwork for the next round of bargaining in nine months' time. The medical association declined immediate comment on the minister's accusations. Meanwhile, in reacting to a recommendation from the Canadian Association of Pathologists for improved testing for diseases such as breast cancer, Wiseman says the province has already done so. The minister says all medical labs in the province now have to follow an accreditation process.

Government Debates Home Care (fr. VOCM News)

The legislature debated home care. But the official opposition received no support from government in trying to bring in emergency measures to deal with the home care situation in the province. It called for measures to help those in need of home care until a government review is completed and long term plans introduced. Liberal leader Yvonne Jones says government members are well aware of the situation. Jones says it is disheartening to know government is refusing to act until the review is completed while many seniors go without some of the basic life necessities in order to pay for homecare. Health Minister Ross Wiseman says he expects the review to be completed as early as September.

The present Government in NL just does not grasp the situation! This motion was just for emergency measures and could of helped until a long term plan was put in place. I doubt if any solution will be found until the premier makes a cabinet shuffle and gets rid of the biggest oxymoron in NL Health Care History. Ross the Wiseman never could understand the situation and denies a crisis exists.

A chance to be a leader.

Butts and Babies Don't Mix
April 5, 2008
(from VOCM News)

The Minister of Health and Community Services says he is keeping an eye on what is happening across the country as a number of provinces have moved to ban smoking in cars when children are present. Nova Scotia was the first Canadian province to enact a ban for cars carrying children under the age of 18 years. The Yukon recently followed suit and the issue is up for debate in the Ontario legislature. Wiseman says until the issue surfaced in Wolfville, Nova Scotia some time ago, it wasn't something that was discussed here in this province.

Mr. Wiseman, here's a chance to be a leader, not a follower. Why not make it illegal for anyone in a car to smoke when there is a passenger? There are those over 18 who can't speak for themselves. They are the developmentally delayed. Even quite a few of our non smoking seniors out there have to breathe it in because they sometimes have no say in the matter.

A story by Natalie Musseau, taken from The Gulf News about the Home Care crisis in our area.

Hardy fears looming home care worker shortage
Low pay, high demand

NATALIE MUSSEAU
The Gulf News

Tears roll down Goldie Hardy's face as she pauses to find a voice for her fears.

She's scared that she will be forced to give up caring for two autistic men she considers part of her family because of the low wages given to home care workers.

Two of the four workers that help the Port aux Basques resident have told her they are looking elsewhere for work. Mrs. Hardy says that's because they simply can't make enough to live on the wage they are earning - under $9 per hour.

Her workers, like many others, are funded by the provincial Department of Human Resources, Labour and Employment.

"It's not all about the money," said Mrs. Hardy, adding that all of her workers would have left for high-paying jobs on the mainland years ago if that was the case. More on the story ..Click here.

Home-care labour crunch at crisis point, managers say

"CBC NEWS ARTICLE"

A bustling job market in the St. John's area is draining home-care workers, and a labour shortage won't improve as long as wages remain well below national standards, an agency owner warns.

Most home care workers in Newfoundland and Labrador earn little more than minimum wage.
(CBC)

"On an average week to two-week basis, I would suspect we're losing three to four home support workers, and … we're hiring probably one, maybe two, every two weeks," said Phyllis Marie Healey, human resources manager of Caregivers, a home care company in St. John's.

"We can't replace the ones we are losing."

The issue is wages. Even fast-food restaurants pay more than what Newfoundland and Labrador employers can offer in home care, an industry largely subsidized by the provincial government.

The issue of home care was pushed to the fore last week by the dilemma of Patrick and Shirley Connors, a St. John's couple in their late 70s who say they may have to declare bankruptcy in order to qualify for government-run care. More here.............

Can someone help the Tin Man find a Heart?

looks like the Tin Man is not impressed! I doubt Ross ol by'e if someone was out to impress you when they decided to take a stand to better the lives of Home Care Workers and the clients they serve. Actually,i'm not out to impress you as i post my Blog today. You see Ross, our world does not revolve around you but your world, where ever it is ,lets call it OZ, for the sake of an argument, Affects us! After reading todays VOCM news i can only shake my head at you and all those that live in OZ.
Health Minister Not Impressed
October 5, 2007

The Minister of Health isn't too impressed with what he calls the short notice given by some home care agencies that they can no longer take new clients. Home care providers say there is something wrong with the system when people can make more money and better benefits at a coffee shop. A group of fifteen agencies from across the province, part of the Employers' Council, have announced they are not taking any new clients because of a serious lack of staff, money and training. Health Minister Ross Wiseman says home care is still available for new clients as some agencies are not with this particular group. As well, people do not necessarily have to go through an agency. Sandra Noel of Compassion Home Care says there is a misconception that home care is nothing more than making tea and playing cards with the patients.

2 dollars an hour...that's what one personal care home operator in the province says he gets to care for each of its residents. Boyd told VOCM Open Line with Randy Simms, he's been corresponding with government for years about the situation, but has gotten nowhere.

Ross speaks....not really!

From the VOCM News site:

Province Will Talk Wages With Nurses
August 18, 2007

Health Minister Ross Wiseman says they can't increase nursing wages until the current collective agreement is up for renewal. Nurses Union President Debbie Forward has said nurses in this province are the lowest paid in the country and that's a challenge when it comes to recruiting. Minister Wiseman indicates government will be willing to talk money when negotiations start.

What about the Home Care workers in NL Mr. Wiseman? We have no collective agreement with anyone. How about it Mr. Premier? You control the purse strings along with the puppet strings. How about wage increases for those of us who have no one to represent us?

60 days until Election Day!
Newfoundland and Labrador will go to the polls on Tuesday, October 9, 2007.
On that day i can be an equal with all the other bloggers i see here. I'm allowed to cast a vote and they in turn are allowed one. That is if i decide to take the time to go out and vote. It might sound a bit foolish on my part but this is the first time since i have been eligible to vote that i actually don't feel like taking the time to do so. The way i see it, the present government like the one before it has not benefited my family and were no better off now than a decade ago. Letters & e-mails to my MHA and other government officials seem to have been a waste of time on my part. Seems like the only satisfaction im getting recently is from the auditor general and the RCMP investigations into the misuse of our tax dollars. My wife and i have been working in the Home Support System of this province for the pass 18 years and each year have hoped for a few benefits from our hard work in forms of a pay raise, few sick days or other benefits that other government employees take for granted. Each year we tend to be disappointed but hopefully soon we'll receive a slight bit of satisfaction when some who have reaped so called benefits get their just reward. So on October 9/2007 rather than take the time to write a x on a ballot for a candidate who i suspect is less likely to steal from me. I'll drive on by the polling station and i won't have a thing to be disappointed about. Sounds fair enough!

Foster Home Shortage
May 2, 2007

The NDP leader says the shortage of foster homes is nearing the crisis level. Lorraine Michael wants government to increase the amount people are paid to look after children who require such help. In the legislature yesterday, the minister responsible for child welfare, Ross Wiseman, said they are in year two of a three-phase increase in compensation paid to caregivers.

Will Ross,guess what? if year three is like years one and two,your not only in deep shit,your full of it!!