Sault Ste. Marie, ON (July 19, 2024) In the event of a labour disruption at Group Health Centre, we want to assure our patients and community that we have a plan in place to continue providing health care services, minimizing disruptions in care as best as we can. We are disappointed to be in this situation, and frustrated for our patients whose access to primary care may once again be impacted.
Recognizing the important role our employees play in delivering high quality care to our community, a labour disruption will impact our ability to provide our full capacity of health care services to patients. Our priority is continuity of care and healthcare services for our community.
We remain committed to working towards a resolution and are scheduled to be back at the bargaining table for mediation on Thursday, July 25.
Through the dedicated work of the GHC and CUPE bargaining teams, two tentative agreements were successfully negotiated during this round of bargaining, which occurred between February and June 2024. Neither of these agreements were accepted by the members. Appreciating the crucial role of our team and the current economic conditions, the most recent agreement included a 9.5% wage increase over a 3-year period. The wage increases and other compensation improvements are in line with the sector across the province and represent a substantial increased investment by GHC of approximately $1.5 million over 3 years.
Over the past several years, the parties (GHC and CUPE) have negotiated and ratified several collective agreements. The most recent agreement included a 3.75% increase in 2023, as well as a financial signing bonus for members. In the years prior, negotiated and agreed upon wage increases were reflective of the environment at that time and aligned with the healthcare sector.
We remain committed to reaching a resolution at the negotiation table so that we can continue to focus on our priority to deliver care to our community.
