Help Nova Scotia’s Home Support Workers
Minister Barbara Adams
Low wages. Unsafe conditions. Hundreds left waiting for care.
Home support workers are essential. They help seniors and people with medical needs live safely at home. But their work is undervalued—and it’s putting the entire home care system at risk.
Most earn far below a living wage. Many are only paid for time inside a client’s home—not the travel or waiting between visits. It’s unpredictable, precarious, and unsustainable.
The Reality:
Severe staffing shortages: Nearly 13% of home care positions are unfilled, leaving around 900 Nova Scotians waiting for care. Half aren’t receiving the full hours they’re approved for.
Unlivable wages: The living wage ranges from $24 to $28 per hour in Nova Scotia, yet most workers earn significantly less.
Highest injury rates in the province: Home care has a workplace injury rate of 5.84 per 100 workers—over four times the provincial average. Repetitive strain, lifting clients, and slips or falls are the most common injuries.
Unsafe and unpredictable conditions: Workers are often alone in clients’ homes, facing hazards and violence without support. Burnout is rampant. And workers are leaving.
What’s at Stake:
Without fair wages and safer working conditions, more workers will leave--and more families will go without the care they need.
Minister Barbara Adams:
You have the power to fix this. Support fair wages. Guarantee safe conditions. Ensure stable hours.
Home care workers care for our loved ones. It’s time we care for them.
Sponsored by
To:
Minister Barbara Adams
From:
[Your Name]
I need you to act.
Nova Scotia's home support workers - especially Continuing Care Assistants - are in crisis. They're essential to our health care system, keeping seniors and vulnerable people safe at home. But they're underpaid, overworked, and burning out.
Right now:
- Over 900 people are waiting for home care. Many aren't getting the hours they've been approved for.
- Wages start at $15.20, with a median of just $23/hour. Many have no guaranteed hours.
- Injury rates are the highest in any sector - four times the provincial average.
- Workers are alone in unsafe situations, with rising burnout and turnover.
This is a health care emergency hiding in plain sight. I expect you to speak up and act.
Here's what these workers need:
- Fair pay
- Guaranteed hours
- Safe working conditions
They care for our loved ones. Now it's your turn to care for them.