Details regarding $5,000 payment released
June 1, 2022
The Ford government has finally released details regarding the nurse “retention” payment, which is nowhere near what Premier Ford originally informed ONA last month. As ONA has stated publicly, this measure is insufficient to address the issues driving nurses away, which harm patient, resident and client care. It is also exclusionary, and fails to address the staffing issues facing all health-care professions. ONA, along with our labour partners, will continue to press for meaning action on health workforce planning and for the repeal of Ford’s unfair wage-suppression law, Bill 124.
Eligibility
The guide states that all nurse classifications including Nurse Practitioners, Registered Nurses and Registered Practical Nurses are eligible. Nurses in all publicly funded organizations including hospitals, home and community care, long-term care, licensed retirement homes, public health, mental health and addictions, other community services, corrections, labs/diagnostics, telehealth/tele advisory are eligible. Nurses that will not qualify include those in private duty nursing, those employed by schools/school boards/post-secondary institutions and Nursing Executives such as Chief Nursing Executives. Additionally, hours worked for Temporary Staffing Agencies are not eligible.
Please carefully review the government’s program guide for additional details and clarity regarding eligibility. There are many fine-print details that are within the guide that may impact your eligibility, so please carefully review it.
Payments
This scheme provides a schedule of two separate payments through employers, pro-rated payments for part-time and casual nurses and specific criteria for nurses who are on leaves. The payments will be administered by your employer, so any questions and/or clarifications you need should be directed to your employer. If you have discrepancies with the payment, please contact your Bargaining Unit President.
