Durham Region: arbitrator backs PSWs in seniority grievance over Seaton Village care home

Arbitrator Parmar ruled the Region of Durham's requirement that existing personal support workers register with the HSCPOA before transferring to PSW positions at the new Seaton Village Long-Term Care home was arbitrary, unreasonable, and violated seniority rights. CUPE Local 132, which represents the workers, called it a major win for PSWs across Ontario.

By Daily Durham News

Oct 23, 2026, 8:13 a.m. ET1 min read

The Duke Centre Retirement Home building in Elmira, Ontario, a retirement and long-term care facility with a covered entrance and landscaped grounds — The Duke Centre Retirement Home in Elmira, Ontario. (Photo: JFVoll / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0) · Credit: JFVoll, Wikimedia Commons

An arbitrator has upheld a CUPE grievance against the Region of Durham, ruling that the Region's requirement that existing personal support workers register with the Health and Supportive Care Oversight Authority (HSCPOA) before transferring to PSW positions at the new Seaton Village Long-Term Care home was arbitrary, unreasonable, and violated employees' seniority rights under the collective agreement, CUPE announced in a press release.

The Region had imposed the registration requirement even though registration with the HSCPOA is not yet mandatory under provincial regulations, blocking existing PSWs who were not registered from obtaining positions at the Region's newest home, according to the release.

CUPE 132 president Tera Engley called the decision 'a huge win for the members of CUPE 132, and a step in the right direction for all PSWs in Ontario,' while CUPE Ontario's health-care leaders said the union will keep pressing the Ford government to amend the registry to include PSWs on its governing board. The release was issued October 22, 2026.

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