TORONTO, ON, September 18, 2025 – About 50 primary care workers at the North York Family Health Team (NYFHT) hosted information pickets today to call attention to their demand for fair wages ahead of conciliation next week. They are fighting to secure their first collective agreement that recognizes their skills and the care they provide for almost 100,000 patients in the North York area.
“It is a disgrace that primary care workers at North York Family Health Team already had a seven-year wage gap and then continued to see wage increases below inflation,” says Erin Ariss, Registered Nurse and Provincial President of the Ontario Nurses’ Association. “After working tirelessly throughout the pandemic to ensure our communities got the care they needed, the least this employer can do is ensure they have fair wages in order to be able to make ends meet.”
Family health teams provide ongoing, complex, immediate and preventative care that includes diagnosing and treating health conditions, prescribing medications, providing referrals and ordering tests, among other things. Access to primary care can help keep patients out of overcrowded emergency departments and save health-care dollars.
The team at NYFHT – comprised of 12 different health-care professions – is encouraging the public to put pressure on their employer to meet their demands so that they can continue to provide the care their patients need and deserve. Without fair wages, many are contemplating moving to other health-care sectors where they can do similar work for fair compensation. The team will hold additional information pickets on Monday.
“At a time when many Ontarians are struggling to secure primary care, it’s imperative that the Ford government and employers close the wage gap in this sector. This is the only way that family health teams will be able recruit and retain the staff our communities desperately need,” explains Ariss.
ONA is the union representing more than 68,000 registered nurses and health-care professionals, as well as 18,000 nursing student affiliates, providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community, clinics and industry.
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