Ontario Is Set To Make PSW Temporary Pay Raise Permanent & It Was Set To Expire In March

The Ontario government is set to keep the temporary wage increase for personal support workers for good.

A spokesperson from Premier Doug Ford's office confirmed to Narcity that they are going to be introducing legislation later on this month with a slew of measures geared to building a "stronger and more resilient health care system that is better prepared to respond to crisis as Ontario begins its post-pandemic recovery."

Among the legislation, the current Ontario government is prepared to make the wage increase for PSWs and direct support workers permanent.

According to the provincial government, this will impact over 158,000 PSWs and direct support workers who provide personal support services across a variety of sectors.

This means all eligible workers in long-term, home and community care and in child, community and social services are set to keep their $3 an hour raise.

All eligible public hospital workers are also set to keep their $2 an hour wage increases.

The Ford government first bumped the hourly wages back in October 2020 to address the COVID-19 pandemic and has extended the increases four times since its introduction.

Recently the Ontario government announced it will be providing eligible students up to $13,690 in financial support if they are preparing for their careers as personal support workers. This money can be used to cover tuition fees, the cost of books and a stipend for when students go on their clinical work placement.

Last summer, Premier Ford said that the pay increase for Ontario's PSWs will stay for good.

"I've always said, folks, PSWs are over-worked, under-paid and they deserve every single penny times 10. So we're going to keep that in place, the $3 an hour pay for them," Ford said during a press conference back in July.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.