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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJOHN WOODS \/ FREE PRESS
\nResidents of Shaftesbury Park Retirement Residence learned the home was making changes to the home care program after 88 per cent of the facility\u2019s health-care aides were laid off on the same day they received union certification.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t want care provided by provincially employed workers.<\/p>\n
The letter said the decision to stop the program as of Aug. 20 is a result of \u201cextensive review and careful consideration of ongoing operational and financial challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis 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,\u201d said the letter.<\/p>\n
The home, at 905 Shaftesbury Boulevard, has independent and assisted-living units. Residents pay, on average, $4,500 per month to live there.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could just go back to where we don\u2019t manage it, then the province manages it, but then there are gaps within the system,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t sit right with her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI called out the manager for the excuse and she insisted it had nothing to do with (unionizing),\u201d Popham said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI called out the manager for the excuse and she insisted it had nothing to do with (unionizing).\u201d<\/p>\n
Another resident\u2019s family member said he worries about the future of care thanks to the layoffs and program\u2019s termination.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means they\u2019ll be getting less care, for the same price,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
Shaftesbury Park officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Diane Poulin, whose 99-year-old mother has lived at Shaftesbury Park for five years, said there\u2019s no way the home will be able to operate without 70 of its employees.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe place would grind to a halt,\u201d Poulin said.<\/p>\n
An employee said he received his layoff notice 30 minutes after union certification.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they thought, \u2018we\u2019re just gonna lay off this bunch of people, so that if we hire the next batch of people, they\u2019re not certified,\u2019 that\u2019s what I think,\u201d said the aide who didn\u2019t want his name used.<\/p>\n
Talk about union certification began earlier this year in relation to complaints about management, he said.<\/p>\n
The Canadian Union of Public Employees is preparing to file a union-busting complaint against Shaftesbury Park, spokesperson Dale Emunds said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t 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 \u201ccommitted to workers\u2019 rights.\u201d<\/p>\n The employee said he\u2019s not sure where he\u2019ll go after his employment ends in August.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the only thing I can do, so just wait for whatever happens,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u2014 with files from Maggie Macintosh<\/p>\n nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Nicole Buffie Nicole Buffie is a reporter for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College\u2019s 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Nicole produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJOHN WOODS \/ FREE PRESS
\nResidents pay, on average, $4,500 per month to live at Shaftesbury Park Retirement Residence which has both independent and assisted-living units.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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