Eight days before Christmas and 400 more front-line health care workers face unemployment

Food and cleaning services headed for contracting out at Children’s and Women’s Hospital, B.C. Cancer Agency

It’s eight days before Christmas and the Provincial Health Services Authority is getting ready to contract out food and cleaning services in clinical and non-clinical areas of Children’s and Women’s Hospital and the B.C. Cancer Agency’s Vancouver site.

The PHSA announced to staff today that it has issued a Request for Information and Qualifications to private corporations for the provision of food and environmental services at the three highly specialized health care facilities — a move the Hospital Employees’ Union (CUPE) says will result in the layoffs of more than 400 skilled and experienced women and men and will jeopardize the health and safety of some of B.C.’s most vulnerable patients.

“Not only does contracting out food and cleaning services put patients at risk, the PHSA’s heartless announcement delivers the news of impending layoffs at the worst possible time of the year to long-serving staff who have built their families and contributed to their communities because of decent paying, secure jobs,” says Allnutt.

Contact: Margi Blamey, communications officer, phone: 604-456-7094