‘We’re seeing higher vacancy rates’: Health workers union says Manitoba needs to do more

The national representing Manitoba health-care labor says nan state needs to prime up nan gait and present connected its predetermination promises.

The Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union (MGEU) released an in-depth study Thursday, which specifications immoderate of nan vacancy issues facing agrarian Manitoba successful a health-care strategy that continues to struggle.

MGEU president Kyle Ross said immoderate wellness regions, for illustration Prairie Mountain, are dealing pinch a vacancy complaint adjacent to 50 per cent successful staffing areas different than nurses and doctors — including health-care aides and location attraction staff.

“Where there’s little opportunities … we’re seeing higher vacancy rates because nan jobs aren’t competitory anymore,” Ross said astatine a property convention Thursday.

“These group are not choosing wellness care, and we request to make wellness attraction an employer of prime if we want to unit these jobs up and person a bully wellness system.”

The national outlined 10 recommendations successful its report, From Crisis to Stability – Fixing nan Staffing Crisis successful Manitoba’s Health Care System, which attributes nan province’s existent health-care situation to cuts and privatization nether nan erstwhile provincial government, arsenic good arsenic nan effect of nan COVID-19 pandemic and an aging population.

The recommendations see a broad recruitment strategy for each positions, phasing retired backstage for-profit recruitment agencies, improving workplace wellness and safety, and ending system-wide restructuring.

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The MGEU said recruitment and retention issues are astatine nan guidelines of nan challenges successful nan health-care system, and relying connected backstage agencies to capable gaps is costly and doesn’t hole nan semipermanent problem.

Earlier this year, nan state laid retired fierce plans to bolster nan number of nurses and doctors successful Manitoba, but Ross said that needs to grow to different professions arsenic well.

“This authorities made an predetermination committedness to hole wellness care. To support their promise, they must put successful nan full health-care team,” Ross said.

Global News has reached retired to provincial officials for comment.