Thank you to OPSEU’s Hospital Professionals Division members

To all members of OPSEU’s Hospital Professionals Division,

Over the past several months it’s been extraordinary to witness your unparalleled professionalism, courage, and activism during this pandemic. Apart from taking on the battles in your joint health and safety committees regarding PPE, redeployment, proper contact tracing and positive case reporting, etc.; it’s been the fight for recognition for pandemic pay that’s been the most inspiring.

Thank you.

Thank you for not only saving lives day in and day out by diagnosing, treating, and rehabilitating all those patients coming through our doors, but most of all, thank you for rallying together in solidarity to remind the politicians of this province that we are all essential to a modern health care team.

Since the announcement about pandemic premiums our sector has been reactivated, with your support we have undertaken the following actions (please note this list is illustrative and not exhaustive):

• Petitions which were presented in the legislature.
• Online days of actions, Facebook posts, t-shirts, and lawn signs

Dedication to wife and all Medical Lab Professionals across the Province of Ontario who continue to be excluded from Pandemic Pay.

• Online letter writing campaign to the Premier, Christine Elliott, and Peter Bethenfalvy regarding exclusion of professions from Pandemic Pay.
• Twitter storms bombarding the Premier, Christine Elliott’s, and Peter Bethenfalvy’s accounts for several hours weekly. 
• Local media coverage:
  • “Intubation can cause a patient to cough right into your face”: A respiratory therapist describes life on the front lines
  • Front-line health-care workers calling on province to expand pandemic pay
  • Front-line workers frustrated at being left off pandemic pay list
  • Lab techs, X-ray techs and other hospital workers say “We matter, too”
  • “Thousands more” Ontario frontline healthcare workers need pandemic pay: union
  • Frontline workers calling on province to expand pandemic pay program
  • Frontline workers upset at no pandemic pay
  • Front-line hospital workers left out of Ontario pandemic pay
  • ‘Forgotten front line’ in Lambton, Ont. calls for pandemic pay bump
  • Front-line health-care workers calling on province to expand pandemic pay
  • Protestors demand COVID-19 pandemic pay for all at-risk frontline workers
  • Front-line workers upset at omission from pandemic pay list
  • Pandemic pay has created a ‘two tier’ system in Ontario hospitals: physiotherapist
  • ‘Essential and excluded:’ Healthcare workers rally in region for pandemic pay
  • PANDEMIC PAY: Ottawa hospital workers protest exclusion
  • A segment of Ontario’s medical professionals feels ‘neglected’ from pandemic pay
  • Front-line hospital workers left out of Ontario pandemic pay
• Social distance province-wide rallies to show our frustrations about this government’s complete lack of respect, recognition, and continued exclusion from pandemic pay. To date we have held rallies in Windsor – Windsor Regional Hospital and Hotel Dieu Grace Healthcare, Chatham – Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, Sarnia – Bluewater Health, London – London Health Sciences Centre, Kitchener / Waterloo – St. Mary’s Hospital and Grand River Hospital, Guelph – Guelph General Hospital, Cambridge – Cambridge Memorial Hospital, Orillia – Orillia Soldier’s Memorial Hospital, Oshawa – Lakeridge Health,Hamilton – St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and Joseph Brant Hospital, Perth and Smiths Falls – Perth and Smiths Falls District Hospital, Ottawa – The Ottawa Hospital / CHEO / Queensway Carleton Hospital, Thunder Bay – Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, Niagara – Niagara Health System,Eastern Ontario Regional Laboratory Association (EORLA),  Scarborough – Scarborough Health Network – Birchmount Hospital, and Scarborough Health Network General Hospital, Toronto – Baycrest Health Sciences, Humber River Hospital, and Queen’s Park, with many more still to come.

To see a photo-montage of all the events please click here. Please feel free to continue to send in your pictures to Noemi Khondo, Campaigns Officer at [email protected] and we will add them to the album.

• OPSEU Media releases and OPSEU Communications:
  • OPSEU’s Thomas to Ford: The time for clear, decisive and strong action on this pandemic is now
  • OPSEU letters to Ontario government officials re CMOH Directives
  • OPSEU President demands stronger leadership from senior medical experts
  • Frontline worker rights during COVID-19 Pandemic
  • We want to hear from you; take our COVID-19 workplace survey
  • OPSEU to provide financial support for eligible members
  • OPSEU calls on federal government to extend pandemic pay to all front-line health workers
  • Letter to Premier Ford: Expand pandemic pay
  • OPSEU celebrates Health Professionals’ Week

Whatever the outcome from all this is, we can be proud that we have raised the profile of all of our professions and the important roles we provide as part of the team delivering patient care in Ontario’s hospitals. I am certain that the politicians will not soon forget all of the different highly-skilled, highly specialized people who are the face of the fight against COVID-19.

We also recognize the very real possibility of a second wave and we will continue to advocate and push for retooling of manufacturing sectors to increase PPE stockpiles and the importance of employers taking appropriate action to prevent burn-out. We will also continue to fight for improved language in our collective agreements surrounding all the issues that are being highlighted from this experience.

We’re in this together.

In solidarity,
Sara Labelle 
Chair, OPSEU Hospital Professionals Division