Villa Marconi board pushes back against union concerns

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Board members and officials from Villa Marconi pushed back this week against union concerns about management of the Ottawa long-term care home.

Last week, union officials called on the Ontario government to investigate the home, citing supply shortages and ongoing pay issues among other things. Some workers, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had been forced to wash and dry residents with pillow cases and sheets at times because of shortages of available clean towels.

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On Tuesday, during a media conference at the centre that is attached to the long-term care home, board officials and others denied those claims.

“Our goal is to make a better life for 128 residents that are here. Our only objective is to give them the highest level of care possible at our home. They are our guests and we treat them with the utmost respect,” said Antonio Mariani, chair of the board of directors at Villa Marconi.

Mariani addressed one of the key issues raised by members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees during last week’s demonstration in front of the home: vacation pay that is still owed to employees from early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Union officials say about $400,000 is still owed to staff from a period early in the pandemic when they were not allowed to take vacation. For some workers, that amounts to thousands of dollars.

Mariani acknowledged the home had an “inherited problem that we are still living with” involving back pay for vacation. That, he said, has been settled, but the home has asked the union for 12 months to pay it. He said they were waiting for a response.

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“We have no issues with the union.”

Michael Shane, interim executive director of the Villa Marconi long-term care, said the home had “adequate supplies on all shifts. In the facility, we have backup supplies as well.” Shane said officials monitored the stocks and inventory for all supplies and replenished them “when there is feedback” or when they saw they needed to be replenished.

“We do not ask anyone to clean any residents with paper towels or pillow cases. We provide them with the supplies and materials they need,” Shane said.

During a tour of the bright, clean facility, Shane showed reporters a supply cupboard on one of the long-term care floors. It was mainly empty with a few towels and some linens. Shane said that towels and linens would be re-stocked in mid-afternoon — and that they were used to clean and dry residents when they got up in the morning and before bed.

Mariani said part of the issue around owed vacation pay was that a company that had worked as a subcontractor in charge of payroll went bankrupt and it was difficult to find records of hours worked during the pandemic. He said some workers had been overpaid as a result of the confusion.

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The long-term care home has been managed by the private company Responsive Health Management Inc. since September 2023.

Members of the board also noted the home had paid its employees increases owed under Ontario’s Bill 124, which capped public-sector wage increases to one per cent annually, but was later reversed by the courts. They said the home was waiting for that money — around $450,000 — to be repaid by the province, which funds long-term care homes.

The long-term care home is part of a larger centre that members of the board describe as “the hub of the Italian community” in Ottawa.

In addition to the long-term care home, the complex houses a banquet hall and meeting area, a daycare and a museum. On the day of the media conference, hundreds of people were attending a Christmas lunch.

Members of the city’s Italian community raised money to help build the long-term care home and the centre. Ongoing fundraising continues to support the long-term care home, especially with capital projects, including a new roof and flooring, board members said.

Mariani also said staff could come forward with any concerns to the board.

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“They can openly talk to us, we want the best care for our residents.”

Staff members, however, told the Ottawa Citizen earlier that they repeatedly raised issues around supply shortages and were either accused of taking towels and face cloths home or were told it would be looked into without resolution.

CUPE national service representative Sherry Wallace said workers in laundry and housekeeping were so short-staffed that they didn’t have time for breaks and, if someone called in sick, did not have time to finish their work. PSWs, speaking anonymously, said at least one had to leave the floor and go do laundry at the start of shift so there would be clean towels to use.

Wallace also said workers went “above and beyond” for residents, often at their own cost.

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