Join the fight for PSWs to be treated with dignity and respect: New Regulatory Proposal Denies PSWs Basic Rights to Due Process and Representation

CUPE asks the provincial government for fundamental changes to the way it says PSWs will be regulated

 

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Personal support workers are under attack – the Ford government’s new regulatory plan makes workers more precarious. While we support PSWs’ right to self-regulation, these proposed regulations deny PSWs the same rights as other regulated professionals (like nurses).

Please send Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones a message advocating for PSWs to have the same rights as other health care professionals.  

Summary of Issues with HSCPOA Regulations

The following is a summary of our specific recommendations regarding the HSCPOA Regulations and whether they were addressed:

Grandparenting: In the submissions made regarding the PSW Oversight Authority Regulation Proposal, we recommended that for grandparenting of PSWs, 1000 hours over a 5 year period  would be a reasonable amount of experience to require for a Legacy Registration. Reg. 217/24 Registration outlines the requirements for PSWs to register if they do not meet the educational requirements. See the chart attached for full details but, in brief, the Reg. requires 600 hours of work as a PSW in the prior three years. This needs to be verified by an employer. This is outlined in s. 5(3), which in my view is a bit messy and will not be very easy for members to understand just by reading the Regs.

Fees: We submitted that PWSs cannot be expected to take on extra costs and that the Ministry reconsider having PSWs bear the cost of funding the Authority, including the newly introduced Funding for Therapy and Counselling after two years of being funded by the Ministry. Reg. 211/24 Funding for Therapy and Counselling outlines the program to provide therapy and counselling for persons alleging sexual abuse by a registrant. The Reg. does not discuss the source of funding for the program. Reg. 217/24 Registration includes provisions regarding fees being payable with registration applications, suspension for non-payment of fees, etc. but none of the Regs. actually outline fee amounts.

Due Process:

There were also five specific recommendations on due process included in the submissions. We have outlined below whether these recommendations are addressed in the Regulations.

    1. That any of the committees appointed by the Board (i.e., the Discipline Committee and Appeals Committee) should be comprised of a majority of PSW registrants.

O. Reg. 212/24 Discipline and Appeals specifically exclude registrants and former registrants from being members of the Discipline and Appeals Committees, so this concern remains. The Reg. says that a person is eligible to be appointed or re-appointed to the discipline or appeals committee if they are not a current or former registrant.

    1. That the rules of procedure applicable to any proceeding should be specified in the Regulation itself and mirror the procedural protections in the Regulated Health Professions Procedural Code, not left to bylaws and/or policy. These rules of procedure would address the right to disclosure of relevant information and documents as well as written notice of the case to be met, encompass robust rules of evidence, including the right to cross-examine witnesses, provide the right to representation, and the right to a written decision with detailed reasons.
    1. That the CEO’s unilateral decisions about registration or complaints should be subject to a full right to appeal to the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board, either by “review” or a “hearing”, at their election. These proceedings should be governed by the same procedural rules applicable to the Colleges.
    1. That the draconian power of the CEO to issue conditions through “interim urgent action” should be revoked.
    1. That there should be a right to a full hearing before the Discipline Committee and the Appeals Committee, with a right to appeal any decision of either Committee to the Divisional Court.

In Reg. 212/24 Discipline and Appeals, there are provisions regarding a hearing before the Discipline Committee and the Appeals Committee. There is no provision providing for a right to appeal any decision of either Committee to court.

Have you been told you have to register with HSCPOA or be fired?

 Our advice to you if you are threatened with termination is to join but to make sure that your local union grieves the policy requiring you to join.

Here is the grievance wording our lawyers have developed for us:

The Union grieves the Employer’s unilateral decision to require PSWs to register with the HSCPOA under threat of termination. The Union grieves that the Employer has implemented this registration requirement without consultation with or notification to the Union. These actions are an unreasonable exercise of management rights. The Employer’s threat to terminate PSWs who do not register is a threat against employees to terminate their employment without just cause. These actions are in violation of the Collective Agreement, including but not limited to the requirement for just cause, the Management Rights clause, and the No Discrimination clause. The Employer is also in violation of its own policies, s. 72 of the Ontario Labour Relations Act; the Ontario Human Rights Code; the Health and Supportive Care Providers Oversight Authority Act; the Fixing Long-Term Care Act; and any other applicable articles of the Collective Agreement or relevant legislation that may apply. 

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