Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare Makes Employees A Priority Through Local Living Wage Program

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Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare has signed on to the local living wage employer program.

“Here at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare we are guided by our vision for a healthier community and by our three drivers, our people, our patients and our identity,” says Janice Kaffer, president and CEO of Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare. “Paying a living wage to our employees is a priority for our organization and is just one example of how we support our people, their families and the community,” added Kaffer.

Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare employs over 1,100 individuals making them the largest living wage employer in Windsor-Essex.

The living wage is a call to employers from all sectors to pay wages that are sufficient to provide for basic needs of families.  The basis of the living wage is that families and individuals should earn an income sufficient to pay for the basic necessities of life, so they can live with dignity and participate as active citizens in our society.

The push to provide a living wage is spearheaded by Pathway to Potential, the poverty reduction strategy for Windsor-Essex. Using the national framework for a living wage developed by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and other leading experts, Pathway to Potential announced the living wage rate for Windsor-Essex in March 2015 as $14.15 per hour without benefits and $13.10 per hour with. This rate puts Windsor-Essex as the second lowest living wage calculation in all of Canada and lowest in Ontario.

Adam Vasey, director, Pathway to Potential says, “Given the vital role that Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare plays in advancing a healthier Windsor-Essex, we are thrilled to have them on board as our region’s largest living wage employer. Our hope is that their leadership on this issue will spur other large employers to become living wage champions.” As Vasey added, “Beyond its clear health and social benefits, a living wage is important for economic development, as it helps to build a fairer, more inclusive local economy.”