Jobs to be privatized, union charges

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This article was published 31/05/2017 (3081 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority intends to contract out a new “enhanced home care” service being introduced as part of its city hospital reorganization plan — a move seen as the beginning of privatization for all home care services.

MGEU president Michelle Gawronsky said the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union (MGEU) is worried the move is the first step toward privatizing all home care services — something, she says, the Progressive Conservatives attempted to carry out in the 1990s.

“I believe this is the beginning, yes. Absolutely. There’s no doubt in my mind,” she said in an interview Wednesday.

In a letter Wednesday to Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen, the MGEU said it’s been informed by the WRHA the authority intends to contract out a new “enhanced home care” service being introduced as part of its city hospital reorganization plan.

Gawronsky said her members — the union represents 2,123 home care and home support workers in the city — are upset the new jobs are to be contracted out. Some are wondering whether they should start looking for work elsewhere, she said.

“They’re very upset. They’re very angry,” she said.

The province and the WRHA unveiled a plan in early April to overhaul Winnipeg’s hospital system, closing emergency departments at three facilities. As part of the reorganization, the WRHA is introducing a new short-term home care service that will allow hospital patients to be released more quickly. It’s expected this will serve 600 patients a year.

Gawronsky said she’s been told the WRHA has a tight deadline for implementing many of its proposed changes. She said she’s been told the enhanced home care service is to be in place by Sept. 30.

Because of a news blackout resulting from the June 13 byelection in Point Douglas, neither the Pallister government nor the WRHA was saying much about the new program Wednesday.

The union said it first learned of the plans to contract out the new home care jobs in a meeting with WRHA executives on May 8. On Wednesday, it informed its members of the government’s and the health authority’s intent. A further meeting between WRHA officials and union members will be held Monday. In her letter to Goertzen, which was obtained by the Free Press, Gawronsky invited the minister to attend.

The union says that in its collective agreement with the WRHA, no more than 20 per cent of city home care services can be contracted out. The MGEU believes if the health authority were to outsource the enhanced home care contract, it would be in violation of that provision. The union says it has not been told how many workers the WRHA will need to provide the new service.

“What they’ve said is no existing jobs would be in jeopardy, which doesn’t give me much comfort,” Gawronsky said.

The union said its members are qualified to carry out the new work. In addition to representing home care workers (Local 113), it also represents case co-ordinators (some of whom are nurses) and various other staff who can conduct and assist in patient assessments (Local 220).

“We would like to work with your department and the WRHA to look at ways to improve the current (home care) program,” Gawronsky said in her letter to Goertzen. “The best advice you can get on what’s working and what isn’t is by talking to front-line staff that care for clients every day and schedule their visits.”

A spokeswoman for Goertzen said Manitoba’s Election Financing Act restricts what the government can say about new programs during a byelection period.

“At this time, we can respond to questions about current programs and provide statistics, but we are limited in our ability to provide interviews or comment on government commitments that have been made but not yet delivered or implemented,” she said in a statement.

The WRHA had previously indicated it would have to create a number of new positions to implement the new program. In a statement late Wednesday, it said it will provide more information about its staffing plans when it meets with the MGEU next week.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca