Macdonald was one of more than a dozen local home care workers gathered outside Tim Houston’s constituency office as part of a province-wide day of action protesting competitive bidding for home care. One was scheduled for Colchester North MLA Karen Casey's office, but was postponed that morning.
“Should this take place, you’re going to see a mass exodus of employees with the privatization; you’re going to see major pay cuts. In this day and age, who can afford major pay cuts?” she said.
The rallies were organized by the Nova Scotia Citizens’ Health Care Network, calling on the provincial government to “keep home care not for profit” and cover it fully under medical insurance.
In December, the province announced the hiring of a procurement consultant to look into how services are given, expecting to put out a request for proposals in the spring providing it went forward.
The process is still going on, Minister of Health and Wellness Leo Glavine says. Before issuing a RFP, the department would be given a draft, which he said would be available for all home care providers to view and comment on beforehand.
“This isn’t just about getting a better price point,” he said, adding that throughout the province, there’s a $20 discrepancy between hourly wages for home care workers from provider to provider. “Getting some kind of middle ground is what we would be looking towards.”
He said there are many agencies and companies doing a great job, with no wait lists and delivering home care at a price that works for both government and workers. The changes are meant to target the discrepancies, where there are still waiting lists for home care, despite an additional $33.5 million in the budget for it, he said, seeing this as a possible long-term solution as the province faces a continually aging population.
Procurement for home care is getting a bad rap in Nova Scotia, partly because of Ontario’s experience with it, which the N.S. Citizens’ Health Network says resulted in lower wages, loss of quality of care, high turnover, and lack of staff satisfaction.
“I’m not looking at what went on in Ontario,” Glavine said, adding that he believes they will find a model that is a combination of private and not-for-profit home care providers that maintains wages and collective agreements with unions.
Many workers throughout the province came to the organized rallies Wednesday with dishtowels in hand. The move is a nod to a comment the health network is saying Glavine made, asserting that he does not believe home care workers should be making $18 an hour to wash dishes.
Local home care workers had many responses to the comment, agreeing that though dish washing is a part of their job, support and care is a larger aspect.
Pictou County home support worker Madonna Mackinnon told a story of a woman whom she was at her home to bathe and had symptoms of high blood pressure. She advised her to go to the hospital, where they averted a stroke, Mackinnon said.
“Had she not been there, and not been alert, how much more would that have cost the health care system if she did have a stroke?” Monica Burns, who also works locally in home support, said as an example of all the care many workers are providing.
Glavine says the dishwashing comment was taken out of context, and does not reflect his view of continuing care assistants. “I have the highest regard for the work that they do.”
He suggests that another level of home care support could be offered for clients who only need housekeeping services.
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