NORTH YORK - Staff and patients held a rally at North York General Hospital today over frontline healthcare workers being made to wait for a contract while the CEO pocketed $2.3-million.
Hospital staff represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) submitted proposals last year to improve quality of care and increase safety for visitors by making sure patients get the right nurse at the right time and that Registered Practical Nurses have an early warning system to use when patients are at risk.
But the Ontario Hospitals Association (OHA) has been stalling frontline staff since August 2009, while the pay of the CEO at North York General has climbed above half-a-million dollars.
Bonnie Adamson's compensation as CEO has jumped 22 per cent in the last five years to $508,000, meaning she has pocketed $2.3 million since 2005.
"How can you justify paying out $2.3-million to a CEO while frontline staff are being kept waiting?" asked Sharleen Stewart, president of SEIU Local 1 Canada.
The rally called for CEO pay to be capped and urged the OHA to reach an agreement with members of SEIU Local 1.
Protesters delivered signed postcards demanding patients get the right nurse at the right time.
Staff and patients have already delivered about 5,000 signed postcards to hospital executives across Ontario urging an end to delays.
SEIU Local 1 Canada represents 46,000 healthcare and community service workers in Ontario.