Manitoba offers temporary $5/hour pay bump to staff helping vulnerable people

Caregivers who providedirect or residential care to vulnerable Manitobansduring the pandemic are being thanked with apay bump.

The province will provide $5 per hour wage increaseto eligible staff, includinghealth-care aides, housekeeping staff, direct service workers and recreation workers, for a period of two months, Families Minister Heather Stefanson announced at a briefing Friday.

"This is really targeted at those lower-income folks that are working frankly, as heroes within our system right now," Stefanson said.

The $35-million caregiver wage support program will also supportworkplaces that arelow on staffdue to positive cases of COVID-19, she said.

Individuals atpersonal care homes or in disability services, child welfare services, homeless and family violence prevention sheltersor long-term care facilities are eligible for the top-up. To qualify, workers must earn less than $25 an hour.

It's expected as many as 20,000 workers can benefit.

Saluting front-line workers

"It recognizes the dedication and heroism of our front-line workers who are serving vulnerable Manitobans each and every day," Stefanson said.

The program is partly funded by a $17-million commitment from the federal government. Ottawa's contribution was part of money originally set aside for wage subsidies, an official said.

The top-up is based on the number of hours an employee works from Nov. 1 to Jan. 10. Regular and overtime hours are accepted. There is no limit to the amount of hours an eligible employee could apply for the wage bump.

Applications will be accepted twice. The first intake period will close on Dec. 14 and the money will be paid directly to workers that week, the province said. Applications will also be received in the second week of January.

A full-time worker could receive an extra $1,800, the province said.

ShannonMcAteer,health care co-ordinator forthe Canadian Union of Public Employees Manitoba, said the extra $5 an hour will supplement the incomes of people who need it.

"Thisalso highlights the fact that this this category, this sector is definitely underpaid," McAteer said, and that was the case even before the pandemic. The pay scale insome positionsdoesn't go much higher than minimum wage, she said.

Some workers in this sectoronly have a few days of sick pay, said McAteer.She'd like to see additionalfunding for support workers who get sick with COVID-19 or must isolate.

Meanwhile, Stefansondescribed the wage subsidy announcement Friday as a first step toward helping employees already working in thesector.

She didn't say, however, howfacilities are coping with limited staffing. Stefanson said16 CommunityLiving disABILITY Services agencies havereported positive COVID-19 cases among participants or staff.