CUPE president Sherry Hillier says the level of physical and mental stress among staff in long-term care homes is the worst she’s ever witnessed.

Hillier herself worked as a licensed practical nurse for almost 25 years before assuming the top job with the Canadian Union of Public Employees in the province.

She says jobs in her field were hard enough to find in the early 1990s, but she says employment prospects are even worse now, calling it “scary times.”

Hillier described workers in long-term care homes as heroes for managing to keep cases of COVID-19 out of the province’s facilities.

She says yesterday’s NDP commitment to hiring more staff is encouraging but added she’s disappointed she hasn’t heard similar sentiments from the other parties.