A strong voice for administrative and clerical workers at SickKids
You keep SickKids running. By unionizing, you can fight for better pay, fair treatment and real job protections.
A union is a way for you and your co-workers to act together to improve your working conditions. Together, you can negotiate a collective agreement—a contract with the hospital that set out pay, benefits, job security and more.
[Sign your confidential union card]
What’s at stake
SickKids deficit and restructuring
SickKids faces a deficit of more than $100 million. The provincial government is requiring hospitals to eliminate their deficits with cuts to be made to non-clinical areas. That puts administrative and clerical jobs directly at risk.
Hiring freeze means more work for you
At the October 19 town hall, Ronni said the hiring freeze would likely continue for another one to two years. You are already doing more as colleagues leave and positions go unfilled. Another two years of vacancies would mean even heavier workloads for those left behind.
What unionized hospital workers have won
Unionized hospital workers enjoy superior working conditions, including, but not limited to:
Better pay and annual wage increases
CUPE members at SickKids negotiate wage creases every year. In 2025, CUPE staff won a 4.25% increase as opposed to the 2.25% given to non-union workers in 2026.
CUPE staff also get ½ hour paid lunch and didn’t have to cut their wages. SickKids actually cut some clerks’ hourly wage to pay for a break – up to $4,000 per year.
Protections from layoffs and technological changes
When jobs are threatened, workers need a say in what happens next. CUPE’s existing agreement at SickKids requires the hospital to work with the union to explore alternatives to layoffs. It also provides ways for eligible workers to move into other positions, retrain or return to work after a layoff.
These processes make a real difference. Earlier this year, The Ottawa Hospital announced plans to eliminate roughly 400 positions. By September, it reported limiting involuntary departures to 17 people through measures including vacancy management and early retirement. That doesn’t erase the impact of staffing cuts, but it shows how alternatives to layoffs can help workers remain employed.
Read more about layoff protections.
Fair treatment at work
When you’re unionized, your Collective Agreement will set out rules for workplace decisions. This helps protect workers from favouritism and unfair treatment. If the hospital breaks those rules, workers have a formal process to challenge the decision, with union representation and support.
[Sign your confidential union card]
How unionizing works
- Sign a card: You confidentially sign a union card to show support.
- Secret ballot vote: When enough workers sign, your union can call for a vote.
- Majority wins: If most people who vote, vote “YES” you form your union.
- Negotiate your first contract: You and your co-workers decide your priorities and elect your own bargaining committee.
The CUPE union advantage
CUPE members at SickKids enjoy superior working conditions, including annual wage increases. These are negotiated yearly. In September of 2023 workers received a 3% increase, and again in September 2024. Through 2025 there was an additional 4.25% increase. These increases all also include full retroactivity.
CUPE has secured premiums for SickKids workers, such as a $3.14/hour weekend premium and a $5.40/$6.12/hour weekend evening/nights premium. SickKids CUPE members have paid lunches with no wage cut to achieve this. Clerical staff who are not with CUPE had their wages cut to pay for a break, totaling up to $4,000 a year.
Strictly speaking, with CUPE, wages go up, not down.
We also have the best layoff protection language in the hospital sector, and our Collective Agreements strictly prevent nepotism, favouritism, and discrimination. Further, SickKids workers with CUPE have access to early retirement benefits.
Casual and part-time staff also enjoy the advantages of being CUPE members, with 14% pay in lieu of benefits.
CUPE Hospital Job Security Protections vs. Non-Union (Employment Standards Act) Protections
All workers in Ontario are covered by the Employment Standards Act (ESA). Unfortunately, the protections afforded by the ESA don’t go far enough in protecting the rights of workers and ensuring a safe and respectful workplace.
That’s where CUPE comes in. We have strong language across the board in our collective agreements, and Sick Kids is no exception.
The following is a non-exhaustive overview of some of the benefits members of CUPE have over standard ESA language protecting non-union workers. Unless otherwise noted, none of the following provisions exist in the ESA.
A Collective Agreement is the contract signed and ratified by the union and the employer which outlines the wages, working conditions, benefits, and more that regulate all goings on at workplace. These provisions include across the board improvements for our members. For example, our Collective Agreement with CUPE outlines a process whereby the union participates in the hospital’s budget process to avoid layoffs, including being privy to financial and staffing information to detect potential layoffs in advance.
The hospital is required to form a redeployment committee with the union to explore any alternatives to layoffs. This can include reassignment, where employees are moved to a similar job at the same wage. The union has a right to present alternatives to the hospital CEO.
CUPE members who work in hospitals have fought for and won improvements to their retirement package, whether the exit is early retirement or voluntary exit. This includes a provision that allows for two weeks salary per year of service for a maximum of 52 weeks of salary upon retirement.
Hospitals are obligated to give notice to the union as soon as they become aware of job losses that may be a consequence of technological change, such as Artificial Intelligence or new software implementation. The ESA states that non-union employers must give 1-8 weeks notice, depending on the length of service.
CUPE members also have specific layoff rights structured around seniority, allowing more experienced workers to bump a less experienced worker, retire, or go on the recall list. Retraining is also provided to members for up to sixmonths for members that want to seek a different job and avoid layoffs.
Artificial Intelligence Puts Clerical Jobs Under Threat
Thanks to funding cuts by the provincial government, hospitals are exploring the use of Artificial Intelligence to replace administrative and clerical workers. In fact, AI is now operational at SickKids through several programs already including AI Ready and SKAI. Meanwhile, Sick Kids has a $124 million deficit and must submit a plan to the government to balance the budget, prioritizing cuts to non-clinical services. It’s fair to wonder what impact AI may have on Sick Kids clerical and administrative staff.
Non-union employees at Sick Kids have few legal rights when it comes to job protection. The hospital’s only obligation is the minimum provision under the Employment Standards Act (ESA). This is limited to notice (maximum eight weeks) and severance pay only after five years of service and up to a maximum of 26 weeks’ pay.
The Benefits of a CUPE Collective Agreement
Unionized staff covered by the CUPE collective agreement at Sick Kids, by contrast, are covered by layoff protections that go far beyond the ESA. CUPE members benefit from a comprehensive process that can make it difficult and costly for the hospital to implement layoffs or eliminate jobs.
The hospital must meet with the union to find alternatives to the layoff. There is much longer notice to the union and to any workers would will be affected by a potential layoff. Significant monetary packages must be offered to incentivize retirement-age employes to free up positions voluntarily. And finally, there are a range of opportunities to remain employed at Sick Kids.
In brief, this process saves jobs.