The Saskatchewan government has announced that it will be expanding on the wage support program developed for care workers during the pandemic, giving more essential care workers access to the financial supplement.
The Saskatchewan Temporary Wage Supplement Program is meant to help those who work with the most vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the program expansion, the benefit will now be available to workers at assisted living facilities, private daycares, and approved private service homes.
This is in addition to the previous eligibility framework, which allowed workers from care homes, group homes, childcare facilities, healthcare facilities, emergency and transition shelters, and individual home care services to apply for the benefit.
The government has also removed any income requirements for eligible workers at assisted living facilities if they earned a wage less than $24 an hour and have total gross earnings of less than $2,500 from all sources of income, including outside the care facility, during the period for which they are applying.
“The government, through the Wage Supplement Program, wants to ensure that we are helping as many workers as possible in Saskatchewan’s private and public long-term care, assisted living, and also other private care facilities,” said Finance Minister Donna Harpauer in a press release.
The benefit itself has not changed, continued Harpauer. Eligible recipients will still receive a wage supplement of $400 for a four-week period, for up to 16 weeks from March 15 to July 4.
Part-time, full-time, and casual workers are all able to apply for the wage supplement, provided they work at an eligible facility and not a third-party contract service provider within a facility.
Applications for the Saskatchewan Temporary Wage Supplement Program are available online through the government’s website, along with more information about the program.
