Solidarity with AVENS workers

Thank you David for sharing your message to Avens CEO with workers. We are grateful for your solidarity!

Hi Daryl:

After covid I thought we’d see Canadian society showing greater appreciation of the very important work of our long term care givers and personal support workers, a group that has been systemically undervalued in wages and benefits.  This includes showing greater appreciation of the unique talents and human attributes that workers in this field bring to their workplaces; I refer to the specialized capacity for compassion and caring that is so essential in this field, a capacity most deserving of recognition and recompense.  I have the feeling that we haven’t fully learned the lessons of covid; otherwise we’d be displaying greater generosity in the wage settlements we are negotiating with this group of essential workers, and employers such as Avens would be showing more open-handedness in how they bargain.  

All this is to say that, on the occasion of the one year anniversary of the expiration of Aven’s last contract with UNW Local 25, I urge you to help correct the long-term wage imbalances that have plagued this under-appreciated group, and to honour your workers with a progressive collective agreement that addresses the specialized and nuanced human skills and attributes they bring to their workplace.

Yours respectfully

David Miller