April 2002

Dear Friend:

Thank you for your e-mail message and for sending me a copy of the e-mail letter you sent to Tony Clement, Minister of Health and Long Term Care. I appreciate being made aware of the difficulties facing OPSEU hospital professionals in the work place.

In Ontario, the working conditions of health workers have deteriorated under the combined effects of inadequate staffing levels, widening wage gaps, work intensification, inconsistent and counter-productive managerial strategies, contracting out and privatization. These factors have led to the recruitment and retention of health care workers becoming a key issue confronting virtually all health care organizations. How, after all, with shortages of many health care professionals across Canada and the world, can we expect to keep health care workers in Ontario under these conditions.

I understand a recent report showed that 10% of Ontario hospital workers leave their employment on a disability leave. Health care workers are the foundation of our health care system. What then does this statistic say about the state of healthcare in our province? It is time the Government acknowledged that wages and working conditions are good indicators of the health of healthcare.

As New Democrats we believe chaos in the work environment cannot be considered apart from the quality of life for patients and the public in general. We support your calls for a wage increase and for the urgent need of this Government to improve hospital funding and target that funding to proper compensation of hospital staff.

Thank you for taking the time to bring your concerns to my attention.

Sincerely,

Shelley Martel
MPP – Nickel Belt, NDP Critic for Health & Long-Term Care