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ABOVE THE FOLD

THE HEAT IS ON FOR HEALTH — New-ish Health Minister SYLVIA JONES’s work is piling up.

Not only is she under mounting pressure from political critics to reveal the plan to expand fourth Covid boosters to everyone — she’s now facing fresh calls to deal with workplace violence for health workers.

Jones may be new on the health file but she’s not new to the pandemic. She had a heavy hand in the portfolio as Solicitor General. Photo: Getty

The calls are coming from CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, which commissioned a poll that suggests 63 per cent of their members — including registered practical nurses, personal support workers and other health care workers — have experienced physical violence on the job.

Of the 2,300-plus workers surveyed, 14 per cent said they deal with physical violence daily, while 22 per cent said it happens weekly and another 27 per cent said it happens occasionally. That includes pushing, hitting and having objects thrown their way. Eighteen…