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HHS LAYOFFS DO NOT
REFLECT THE ACTIONS OF A TOP 100 EMPLOYER |
Over
the last few months we have all heard rumours about the potential for
significant layoffs due to the lack of funding for hospitals but each and every
time a meeting was held or news story was written your Union was assured by your
employer, HHS, that they had no intention of losing any more frontline CUPE
staff as they recognized that we are already understaffed and that patient care
would undoubtedly be further compromised.
HHS also suggested that any reduction in staff would be dealt with mainly
through attrition and that they would limit, if not all together avoid, causing
any CUPE staff to "be put out on the street." It would now appear that these
assurances were both false and empty.
HHS has decided to completely ignore their duty and your rights and have begun
issuing individual layoffs to our membership.
We believe that this "move" is part of a deadly game of chess that HHS is
playing with the government to pressure them for more funding.
To add insult to injury and in stark contrast to Murray Martin's recent
boast about his Access to the Best Care initiative and HHS being named one of
Canada's Top 100 Employers in Maclean's magazine for the third consecutive year,
your employer has decided to unilaterally eliminate over 100 positions and
lay-off over 100 CUPE staff without any regard for their obligations under our
Collective Agreement.
Articles 18.03 (b) and (c) of the Collective Agreement between HHS and
CUPE Local 4800 clearly state that:
Prior to issuing notice of
layoff pursuant to article 9.08 (a)(ii) in any classification(s), the Hospital
will offer early-retirement allowance to a sufficient number of employees eligible for early retirement under
HOOP…
If after making offers of early
retirement, individual layoff notices are still required, prior to issuing those
notices the Hospital, will offer a voluntary early exit option…
Your
employer, HHS, has chosen to ignore these very provisions that we negotiated in
good faith.
Local 4800 and CUPE National will not stand idly by and allow HHS to so
blatantly violate your rights and treat our membership and the patients that we
so diligently care for like pawns that are sacrificed for an end game.
We appreciate and understand the stress and anxiety that this situation will
place on you and those you care for in your workplace, that is why your Union will assure you that it will take every opportunity
and step to minimize the damage that your employer is causing.
We will endeavour to keep you updated.
In Solidarity
Dave Murphy
Dave Murphy, Interim President
March 13, 2009
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
The Hospital has started redeployment meetings with our
members. This Union is not in agreement with this process as it violates
the rights of our members.
Our
Union had a representative present at the start
of these redeployment meetings. He was ejected from these meetings by the
Hospital for advising members of their rights. The Union
will not stand by while our member’s rights are violated.
We
intended to be present with our members at these meetings, but unfortunately,
the Hospital has ejected our representative simply for advising our members of
their rights.
Yours in solidarity,
Dave Murphy
Dave
Murphy, Interim President
CUPE Local 4800
As health care workers, we have watched in sadness as more than a decade of cutbacks have ripped the heart out of our health care system.
We're worried about standards of care because we know that cutbacks and privatization will make it harder to do our jobs.
We're concerned that our own members (many with more than 20 years experience) are under severe stress in the workplace because of the uncertain future of their careers.
Like every other Canadian, we're worried about the shortage of doctors and long waits for treatment.
We think there are answers. In this section of our web site, we present opinions and proposals on solving the health care crisis, both from our own union and other sources.
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