Residents of a seniors home in South Tuxedo were floored to learn about a change to a home care program a short time after 88 per cent of the facility’s health-care aides were laid off on the same day they received union certification.
“Frankly, I can’t afford to live here anymore,” said resident Sandy Popham about the Shaftesbury Park Retirement Residence, one of six for-profit homes in Winnipeg that are operated by All Seniors Care.
On Monday, the Canadian Union of Public Employees said position deletion notices were sent to 70 of the 80 aides, right after the bargaining unit was made official.
JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS
Residents of Shaftesbury Park Retirement Residence learned the home was making changes to the home care program after 88 per cent of the facility’s health-care aides were laid off on the same day they received union certification.
A letter sent to Shaftesbury Park residents Monday said the home was terminating the use of the self- and family-managed care program. The provincial program provides funding to individuals and their families to hire private home care workers if they don’t want care provided by provincially employed workers.
The letter said the decision to stop the program as of Aug. 20 is a result of “extensive review and careful consideration of ongoing operational and financial challenges.”
“This decision has not been made lightly, but due to increasing financial realities associated with delivering these services, continuing to operate the program is no longer economically viable,” said the letter.
The home, at 905 Shaftesbury Boulevard, has independent and assisted-living units. Residents pay, on average, $4,500 per month to live there.
Popham, 72, said the home gave residents a list of agencies that could be hired instead, but there are minimum fees that can add up quickly.
Gunter Jochum, whose 88-year-old father has lived at the home for two years and uses the provincial program, said he will have to pay extra and co-ordinate the care himself.
“We could just go back to where we don’t manage it, then the province manages it, but then there are gaps within the system,” he said.
Popham, a retired public health nurse who was a union member throughout her career, said the timing of the mass layoffs and cancellation of the self-managed home care program don’t sit right with her.
“I called out the manager for the excuse and she insisted it had nothing to do with (unionizing),” Popham said.
“I called out the manager for the excuse and she insisted it had nothing to do with (unionizing).”
Another resident’s family member said he worries about the future of care thanks to the layoffs and program’s termination.
“It means they’ll be getting less care, for the same price,” said David, who declined to provide his last name. In the past, he said there has not been enough staff to provide adequate care for the more than 140 residents.
Shaftesbury Park officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment Tuesday.
Diane Poulin, whose 99-year-old mother has lived at Shaftesbury Park for five years, said there’s no way the home will be able to operate without 70 of its employees.
“The place would grind to a halt,” Poulin said.
An employee said he received his layoff notice 30 minutes after union certification.
“I think they thought, ‘we’re just gonna lay off this bunch of people, so that if we hire the next batch of people, they’re not certified,’ that’s what I think,” said the aide who didn’t want his name used.
Talk about union certification began earlier this year in relation to complaints about management, he said.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees is preparing to file a union-busting complaint against Shaftesbury Park, spokesperson Dale Emunds said Tuesday.
JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS
Residents pay, on average, $4,500 per month to live at Shaftesbury Park Retirement Residence which has both independent and assisted-living units.
Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter
A statement attributed to Labour Minister Malaya Marcelino said the Manitoba Labour Board is the independent body that reviews and decides unfair labour practice complaints, and the province is “committed to workers’ rights.”
The employee said he’s not sure where he’ll go after his employment ends in August.
“It’s the only thing I can do, so just wait for whatever happens,” he said.
— with files from Maggie Macintosh
nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca
Nicole Buffie
Multimedia producer
Nicole Buffie is a reporter for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom as a multimedia producer in 2023. Read more about Nicole.
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