5 Ontario healthcare unions unite, SOS appeal issued to government

Ontario’s five largest health care unions have united and issue a SOS appeal to Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones.

As hospitals across Ontario continue to deal with respiratory infections and staffing issues, health care unions are calling for new measures on the provincial level.

The unions represent more than 295,000 healthcare workers across Ontario.

Representatives of the union argue that hospitals in Ontario need to hire an additional 47,000 staff members to respond to turnover rates and aging population.

READ MORE: Ontario health minister defends response to healthcare crisis

The unions said if the government fails to act immediately, many frontline workers will experience burnout due to workload.

They are asking the government to revoke Bill 124, which limits wage surges for certain public-sector employees, and to restrict the use of private staffing agencies and commitments to invest all new funding into public hospitals.