The Hospital Employees’ Union has reached a tentative agreement with the operator of The Hamlets at Penticton which will protect continuity of care for seniors at the Duncan Avenue long-term care and assisted living facility.
The agreement includes modest wage increases and includes a “no contracting out” provision over the term of the three-year agreement.
As a result, H&H Total Care Services Inc. will rescind layoff notices issued last month that would have seen 60 care aides, assisted living workers and recreation aides lose their jobs on August 31.
HEU secretary-business manager Judy Darcy says that workers at the facility were “determined to protect their jobs and ensure stable care for the elderly and disabled residents who call The Hamlets at Penticton their home.”
The agreement covers about 120 union members at the facility including nurses and support workers in addition to the job classifications that had been targeted for contracting out.
HEU members at the facility will vote on the agreement July 14. The bargaining committee is recommending the agreement.