The Listowel Wingham Hospitals Alliance continues to face significant staffing challenges in clinical areas.
The board of governors recently discussed the issue, as the alliance is experiencing a very high number of long-term leaves, mostly consisting of maternity leaves. That has resulted in several temporary jobs to fill, but in the current employment environment, those temporary jobs are no longer attractive.
The board of governors has approved the posting of additional permanent full-time and part-time positions to try and attract new staff. Those jobs would be above the alliance's budgeted staffing compliment, as the organization makes efforts to further stabilize staffing. As well, managers and site schedulers are also working to prepare summer departmental schedules which will provide an outlook for summer staffing risks.
The board is also leading an effort to cultivate a workplace that nurtures individual and collective potential.
Meantime, the board heard the Ontario Superior Court decision that Bill 124 is unconstitutional has created significant uncertainty in labour relations, as most collective agreements had reopener clauses that would be triggered by such a decision. Negotiations and a potential arbitration are scheduled at a provincial level with SEIU and CUPE to deal with reopener clauses.