I am issuing the following statement in light of the government announcement on Monday morning regarding the Incentive Retention Program. UPSE has been lobbying the provincial government for the past several years to provide our dedicated members with recognition and retention incentives for their service and quality of work. All our members, alongside other members of our health care system, have been working under challenging conditions and chronic staffing shortages which were compounded by the COVID 19 pandemic, causing members to struggle with burnout, stress, and mental fatigue.
UPSE is generally supportive of the incentives announced and while some of our members were identified, we are disappointed in the Employer’s failure to have meaningful consultation with us and our other union partners. The incentives have not been applied consistently to all our classification groups in both the public and private sectors that are experiencing high vacancy rates. The employer appears to be valuing certain occupations more than others. It is contrary to Health PEI ‘s vision statement which reads “One Island Community, One Island Future, One Island Health System”.
At this time, because we still have not had proper consultation on the program and how it will be rolled out, we are attempting to secure more information and details related to the incentive program, so we can properly address the numerous inquiries we are receiving from the membership. I therefore ask for patience as we work to obtain answers and advocate on behalf of all UPSE members in both the public and private sectors to ensure they are recognized and appreciated. We will update the membership as we work through this process.
Karen Jackson,
UPSE President
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