Pay increase for disability support workers should stabilize workforce, province says

Scott Smith hopes new government funding for disability services will allow him and his wife to worry less about their son's future.

Smith, whose son has an intellectual disability, knows that as he and his wife age, they will be unable to care for their son, and the history of instability in the disability support workforce worries them.

"My hope is that one day those strangers entering his life will be trained, educated, experienced professionals, able to provide reliable, competent support," Smith, a member of the Family Advocacy Network of Manitoba, said at a news conference Tuesday.

The provincial government held the news conference to provide further details about the $104 million in new funding for disability services announced in the March 7 budget, including more than $80 million to increase support workers' pay.

The increase to a baseline hourly rate of $19/hour should help the province recruit and retain disability support staff, the province said Tuesday. Support workers' wages are currently around $15 to $16 per hour, provincial officials said when the budget was made public.

Difficulties recruiting and retaining disability support staff heightened during the pandemic, and the province hopes the new funding will stabilize the sector.

Premier Heather Stefanson said Tuesday that she recognizes that in the past, essential disability workers have not been compensated fairly for their labour.

"The wage should reflect the importance of the work they do," she said.

For individuals living with disabilities and their families, having the necessary support and services allows them to live full and empowered lives, said Margo Powell, the executive director of Abilities Manitoba.

Support workers provide a sense of "hope and stability," Powell said.

Powell hopes the wage increase will get support workers to stay in the field longer and attract new people to the field.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, a person could have more than 770 different workers come in and out of their life — and that number increased during the pandemic, she said.

Parting ways with a support worker can have a tremendous emotional impact on a person, Powell said.

The inconsistency and change experienced by people receiving support services when there is a high turnover means a loss of security.

Smith said family members also feel the impact of high turnover.

His son receives support through child development services, and Smith and his wife rely on that support. 

Although increased wages will not solve all the problems facing disability support workers and the communities that rely on them, Smith believes it's the first step in building a "reliable workforce."

Alongside the $80 million going toward increased wages, the budget included $2 million to support families raising children with disabilities and more than $21 million to help Community Living DisAbility Services expand capacity.