Kenny’s Pond, Tiffany Village workers demonstrate

‘They have reached a breaking point’: NAPE

About 70 to 80 workers from Kenny’s Pond Retirement Living and Tiffany Village Retirement Living in St. John’s demonstrated outside Kenny’s Pond during their lunch break on Friday, June 2.

The workers were voicing concerns about what they say is hostile management, staffing issues, workloads, recruitment and retention, and an increasingly toxic work environment at the two retirement residences.

Those demonstrating were members of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE). They work in a wide range of jobs at the retirement residences, from nursing staff such as licensed practical nurses and personal care attendants, to dietary staff and environmental services.

They held signs that read: Safety is a Right, Asking for Fairness, BURNT OUT!!, and HEAVY-HANDED MANAGEMENT, among others.

In an early morning NAPE news release, president Jerry Earle said the heavy-handed approach taken by management at the retirement facilities created a toxic and unwelcoming work environment for the staff. He said it has led to workers leaving, and a large number ready to tender their resignations if things don’t change soon.

“These workers have given so much of themselves to care for and protect our elderly and most vulnerable during the pandemic in these two facilities, but they have reached a breaking point,” Earle stated in the news release.

Later Friday morning, Earle spoke with SaltWire just before he was about to go to the demonstration. He was just out of a meeting with the owner of the facilities, and he sounded optimistic.

“(There is) a commitment now that they will sit down with representatives of the workers … identify what concerns are, and attempt now to address them,” Earle said.

Earle said the owner contacted the union early Friday morning.

In the meeting, he said, both sides committed to meeting again after the demonstration, and over the next number of weeks.

SaltWire contacted Tiffany Village Retirement Residence Partnership, the owners of both Kenny’s Pond and Tiffany Village, but did not receive a response by deadline.