After nearly a decade without a raise, Alberta disability workers asking for 25% pay hike

There’s an exodus of employees leaving the disability services sector in Alberta and those who have stayed are calling for a wage increase.

A report from the Alberta Council of Disability Services (ACDS) shows that disability services workers make an average of $18.76 an hour and that there hasn’t been a wage increase since 2014.

Sam Stannard works at the Calgary SCOPE Society and said she knows first-hand how a lack of staff impacts those who remain in the industry.

“More responsibility has come and more staff are having to cover shifts,” said Stannard. “To put it simply, the wages haven’t gone up but the workload has.”

Alberta Disability Awareness in Action has launched a petition and letter-writing campaign aimed at raising awareness.

They want Alberta to increase funding to the Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) program in order to raise wages by 25 per cent.

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Organizer and SCOPE Society of Calgary Program Coordinator Dale Cena said workers and clients are both feeling the impact of high turnover.

“Folks are simply not attracted by the wages,” said Cena. “Quality and care go hand-in-hand and we’re going to start seeing folks who are not as educated or trained to work with the most vulnerable.”

4:03 Financial crisis among Canadians living with disabilities

A survey of 60 disability service agencies conducted by ACDS shows that more than 37.4 per cent of non-profits in the sector feel that their programs are at risk. Moreover, 50.9 per cent are considering reducing or changing provincially-funded programs due to financial pressures.

“The government of Alberta needs to port the funds to PDD then (those funds) will be distributed among all the organizations in Alberta,” said Cena.

In an interview with Global News, Jeremy Nixon, minister for seniors, community and social services, said that while he can’t commit to a specific number for wage increases or timeline, he did not rule out a potential increase in funding for the disabilities program.

He added he’s meeting with several agencies to figure out the best way to retain talent in the disability industry.