A number of frontline health care workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Association of Allied Health Professionals (AAHP) are set to benefit from several short-term financial incentives, as the Provincial Government continues its efforts to target areas of the health care workforce that are experiencing significant challenges. In collaboration with the leadership of CUPE and AAHP, these measures are designed to help address the recruitment and retention issues facing health care professionals in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Honourable Tom Osborne, Minister of Health and Community Services, along with Sherry Hillier, President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees and Gordon Piercey, President of the Association of Allied Health Professionals, will be available to the media today (Thursday, November 10) at 11:00 a.m. to discuss these measures. The availability will take place in the East Block lobby, Confederation Building, and will be livestreamed on Facebook.
The initiatives developed to address the immediate CUPE and AAHP workforce challenges are:
- Retention Bonuses: A retention bonus is available to identified CUPE and AAHP members, targeted to areas where there is an identified retention and recruitment challenge, for a return-in-service commitment;
- Reimbursement of Licensing Fees for Applicable Retired Health Care Providers: Licensing fees will be paid for those who wish to return to work; and
- Double Rate Overtime: This measure is available to identified CUPE and AAHP members, targeted to areas where there is an identified retention and recruitment challenge, and is available until January 31, 2023. It will reduce delays in filling schedules and also should reduce the number of mandated and extended shifts.
The Regional Health Authorities will be reaching out to eligible employees in the next week with further details.
Recruitment and retention continues to be a challenge across all health care professions locally, nationally and internationally. As a result, the Provincial Government continues to work with health care professionals, and has implemented a number of creative measures to help curb the workforce challenges and encourage recruitment. More information on these measures is available here.
This recruitment and retention package follows other recent initiatives announced in partnership with the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees, the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association and the Registered Nurses’ Union of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Quotes
“I want to thank Ms. Hillier and Mr. Piercey for working with us to develop strategies that address a number of challenges faced by their members. While we recognize that recruitment and retention issues dominate health care systems around the globe, we are dedicated to finding creative answers to the situation here in Newfoundland and Labrador. It is our intention that today’s announcement will have meaningful results for CUPE and AAHP health care members.”
Honourable Tom Osborne
Minister of Health and Community Services
“CUPE has worked with the Provincial Government to facilitate the implementation of immediate measures for the retention and recruitment of health care workers. There is still much to do to improve the working conditions for all health care workers, including those not touched by today’s announcement. CUPE has developed additional proposals the government can adopt to attract and keep workers in the public health system. We look forward to continuing to work with government next month, as we begin collective agreement negotiations for health care and other provincial workers.”
Sherry Hillier
President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees
“On behalf of our Allied Health Professionals, I would like to thank the Premier, Minister Osborne and employees of the Department of Health and Community Services for their commitment and partnership with us over the past several months towards these incentives. We all know that there are pervasive shortages across most health care professionals, here and across the country. This critical challenge is not going away anytime soon unless we take action now with holistic and creative strategies to both keep the health care professionals already in our system and to compete and attract new health professionals from outside the province. We look forward to our continued partnership with government to make sure we get there – all of us need to know there is accessible, quality health care available for ourselves, our families and our communities.”
Gordon Piercey
President of the Association of Allied Health Professionals
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Media contacts
Laura Thomas
Health and Community Services
709-729-6986, 727-0341
laurathomas@gov.nl.ca
Colleen Reynolds
CUPE Atlantic Communications
902-809-2253
creynolds@cupe.ca
Administrative Officer
Association of Allied Health Professionals
709-722-3353, 631-4862
info@aahp.ca