More New Brunswickers will now be eligible for the federally-funded essential worker wage top-up program.
On Tuesday, the province announced the program now includes private-sector home care support workers and early learning and childcare enhanced support workers who provide direct client care.
“It is important to our government to constantly review our policies and procedures for best practices,” said Social Development Minister Dorothy Shephard in a news release.
“I am confident that the funds will be helpful to many workers who provide essential support to clients of the Department of Social Development.”
Private sector home care support workers who provided direct, in-home personal care to clients of the Department of Social Development during the period from March 19 to July 9 will be eligible to receive the benefit.
They will receive between $100 and $500 per week depending on the number of hours provided to the client.
Enhanced support workers working in early learning and childcare centres will receive monthly payments over 16 weeks of $500 a month. They will receive their top-up retroactive to May 19 and it will continue for 16 weeks.
Other workers who already receive the funding include:
- early childhood educators in early learning and childcare facilities;
- home support workers providing direct in-person care to seniors, adults and children;
- direct person care in group homes, community residences, special care homes, homeless shelters and transition houses;
- domestic violence intervention workers; and
- food bank and soup kitchen workers.
