[ad_1]
HONOLULU (Hawaii News Now) – Traditionally, Labor Day is celebrated with picnics and picnics. But the staff at Kaiser Permanente Hawaii’s mental health unit spent the day walking the sidewalks.
Kaiser’s staggering staff—which includes 57 psychologists, social workers, nurses and counselors—want better pay and increased staffing.
He said that the current salary scale is not enough to cover the rising cost of living here. Honolulu’s inflation rate is now about 6.3 percent.
“It’s very difficult for us to meet the cost of living. Over 60% of our employees have second jobs. And you know, we’re talking about people with advanced degrees,” said Andrea Kumura, a clinical social worker at Kaiser.
Kaiser mental health workers haven’t received a cost-of-living raise because — even though they organized four years ago — they don’t have a contract with Kaiser.
But Kaiser says it offers attractive pay packages and has hired 28 clinicians in its mental health department as of early 2021.
“We are committed to being the employer of choice for mental health professionals by offering our employees market-leading wages and benefits,” the company said.
High costs are not only hurting workers but also employers.
Businesses such as restaurants and service providers have seen significant increases in food and energy costs over the past year.
And due to the lack of labor, many institutions had to increase salaries by up to 10% in the last year. Some offer cash bonuses to new hires.
“No matter what type of business you’re in – just from your direct costs, labor and other costs, your costs have increased across the board,” said Ryan Tanaka, chairman of the Hawaii Restaurant Association.
Kaiser Mental Health staff and management will continue negotiations on Tuesday.
Copyright 2022 Hawaii News Now. all rights reserved.
[ad_2]
Source link
