Long-term care staff of an Ontario provider have been experiencing payroll issues over the last month, their union says, putting a strain on the financially precarious workers.
About 200 workers at AgeCare Ontario long-term care homes have reached out to complain since Dec. 8, said Paula Randazzo, the union president of HOPE 2220, in an interview Monday. They have raised concerns about money missing for hours or entire days of work, uniform allowances, vacation and sick days, often amounting to several hundred dollars per pay period.
In a letter to site administrators and staff dated Dec. 12, AgeCare said it was “very sorry that there have been pay errors, and that it is taking longer than usual to complete all the corrections.” The company said the introduction of two new applications, UKG Dimensions and Workday, caused the errors and that it was working on getting them fixed.
But nearly a month later, Ms. Randazzo said she continues to hear about new cases at the union, which represents about 1,200 workers, including registered practical nurses, personal supporter workers and housekeepers.
“This could be another Phoenix,” she said, referring to the pay system that caused major disruptions across the federal government in recent years. “The difference being that a big chunk of these workers don’t earn $90,000 a year. They have maybe two or three jobs, some of them, to make ends meet.”
In an e-mail to union representatives Sunday, AgeCare senior vice-president, human resources, Blair Phillips said “the current payroll issues are unacceptable from everyone’s perspective.” He said the provider was in the process of hiring a “dedicated Manager of Payroll for the Ontario operations, located in Ontario” and would conduct town halls this week.
AgeCare, based in Calgary, operates dozens of retirement and nursing homes in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. Last September, it announced the purchase of 16 Ontario long-term care homes from Chartwell, along with the management of other facilities.
AgeCare did not respond to multiple requests for comment.