TORONTO, April 9, 2019 /CNW/ – Staff – particularly racialized workers – at the City of Toronto ten, long-term care homes experience a high level of violence, abuse and harassment, a newly released poll of front-line long-term care workers has found.
The poll is the first time the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 79 has surveyed its long-term care members – the vast majority of whom are female – on their experiences with workplace violence based on job roles and gender within long-term care.
While Toronto municipal long-term care homes are among the sector leaders when it comes to resident care quality, the poll findings show they are not immune to high rates of abuse directed by residents or their family members against front-line staff. The poll also shows the frequency of violence is under-reported because only a fraction of them ever file incident reports for the violence.