Eligible staff at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) are about to see a boost in their pay stubs this week, three months after the provincial government first announced pandemic pay for frontline workers.
CKHA vice president of People and Chief Nursing Executive Lisa Northcott said the first installment of pandemic pay will be issued on Friday, July 31.
"[It] has been a lengthy process working through that with the Ministry, ensuring that we had an accurate list of who was eligible and who wasn't," said Northcott.
The pandemic pay announced in April by the provincial government allows for some frontline workers to receive an extra $4 an hour. However, protests soon followed as not every health care worker was deemed as eligible to receive the extra pay.
Chatham-Kent-Leamington MPP Rick Nicholls previously said he feels bad for the people who were left off the pandemic pay list but they would not be adding to the list.
Both Northcott and Chatham-Kent's Medical Officer of Health (who spoke for the Public Health Unit) emphasized that these decisions were not made at a local level.
"We appreciate all of our staff and physicians who have worked tirelessly through this pandemic and we really don't have any control over who is eligible for pandemic pay and who isn't," said Northcott.