The union representing workers at Iler Lodge is raising the alarm after they say their members have endured months of repeated payroll issues.
The long-term care home in Essex has roughly 140 members represented by CUPE Local 1370, that include personal support workers and nursing staff.
Some staff are missing days or hours of pay, forcing tough choices during the holidays, say union officials.
CUPE National Servicing Representative, Suanne Hawkins, said the issues began on Jun. 1, 2025, when Extendicare, the company that runs Iler Lodge, switched to a new payroll system called Workday.
"Last week several people were not paid again and as we get closer to the holidays we've got single parents, we all know what the cost of groceries are. These people work for an income and when you're not paid, they wanted something done about it, and the employer is continuing to fail to pay them saying 'we can't do it, we can't figure it out, we don't know what went wrong'," she said.
Hawkins said the issues are inconsistent and can affect up to 40 people at one time and just a few during another.
"I have one person who is missing 12 days of pay right now. I have another person who was missing six hours of pay, so it's a huge gammit of anywhere in between, days, hours, lieu days, alt days if they worked a holiday," said Hawkins.
Hawkins said the employer continues to 'pass the buck' on getting the issues fixed.
"The home says it's not our fault it's corporate's fault, and corporate says it's not our fault it's home's fault. So we're left kind of running around in circles saying 'well would somebody just fix it'? I don't really care whose fault it is. We just want to get our members paid," she said.
The union claims management is also forcing holiday time off to come from next year’s vacation or go unpaid, which they call a violation of the collective agreement.
Hawkins said CUPE has filed grievances and plans to take the matter to arbitration in the new year, on top of exploring further options with their legal counsel.
An Extendicare statement provided to AM800 News pointed to "confusion" over recent internal notices sent to ensure schedule data and approvals were in place, a process meant to protect pay continuity and accuracy.
"We have investigated the concerns raised and can confirm that there will be no disruption to upcoming pay periods for our team members in the home," the statement reads.
The company added they are working with the union and are communicating with staff to provide more clarity.