Why do care workers deserve better pay? Community Living London workers answer
On Tuesday at the OPSEU Local 166 picket line for Community Living London, workers marched up and down the street, whistling and cheering at cars passing by. They have joined thousands of other care workers on strike province-wide as part of the “Worth Fighting For” campaign. The strike targets the Ford government’s underfunding of the sector, and aims to get retroactive pay increases following wage stagnation due to the now repealed Bill 124.
Community Living London workers provide a large variety of support for children and adults living with developmental disabilities. Some workers support full 24/7 live-in care at any of the 32 group homes in London, building personal connections with clients with diverse needs to ensure that personal health plans are thoroughly followed.
Antler River Media spoke with three workers on the line to understand the need for pay increases across the sector.
“I saw a few comments on Facebook — they wrote ‘what are they doing, they’re just sitting around,’” said Sarah* who supports live-in care clients. “Our job is physically and mentally challenging.”
Sarah says that people often misunderstand what live‑in support workers actually do. The work involves long hours, constant vigilance, and a wide range of tasks that shift from moment to moment, including personal care, mobility support, medication reminders, crisis de‑escalation, emotional support, housekeeping, and documentation.
“They need help and you need to be present physically, mentally, emotionally as well,” said Mikey*, another support worker. “[Clients] are not getting proper help that they actually should get because the workers, they don’t get enough time to sleep… if they are not in a proper physical wellbeing, how are they supposed to help others?”
Following the passing of the Ford government’s controversial Bill 124, approximately 780,000 workers had their wage increases frozen at 1 per cent. The Bill was ruled unconstitutional and struck down in Ontario Superior Courts six years later. However, workers claim the lack of wage increase over time stagnated wages amidst a rising cost of living.
“Comparatively the pay hasn’t gone up unlike a lot of other stuff… and with such a physically demanding, mentally demanding job it’s very hard to keep up,” said Mikey. “Think about the inflation that has gone up — insurance is going up, car insurance is going up, gas is going up — and we need to take the clients around in our own cars.”
For some workers, the lack of financial stability has driven them out of the sector in search for better pay, but that decision isn’t easy.
“In this economical situation, to leave a job is a very tough thing — I know a lot of people who do two jobs. Two full-time jobs,” said Sarah.
“Think about the amount of pressure that would have on the body and obviously the mental,” said Mikey.
Jessica* is a single mother dealing with this pressure daily. Community Living London is her part-time job in addition to a full-time role elsewhere in the care sector. She works 60 to 70 hours a week. “Still, it’s so hard for me to run my family. Because of inflation, everything is so high,” she said. “That’s why I’m here [on strike].”
“People who have children… that is also a difficult thing. They’re not able to give time to their family,” added Sarah. “I don’t think people know about all this, they don’t understand how much we put into all of this.”
To manage the financial impact of the strike, Sarah explained that she could no longer afford her rent, and had to move in with a relative. “They’re putting us in a tough situation — I have no other option, I have to go to strike because we deserve the pay.”
*The workers interviewed agreed to speak with Antler River under aliases for their protection.