The decision to keep in-house laundry is good news/bad news for Hospital Employees’ Union (HEU) members.
The good news is jobs were saved in 100 Mile House; the bad news is other workers in other communities are losing their positions, says local HEU chair and shop steward Barb Matfin.
“Obviously, it was good news for our local laundry workers and their families, but their joy is dampened by the knowledge that about 150 of their co-workers in other Interior communities will be losing their jobs.”
On March 1, Interior Health (IH) board of directors announced it reached a 20-year agreement with Ecotex Healthcare Linen Service Inc. to provide the majority of linen and laundry services.
The exact location of Ecotex’s laundry plant has not yet been determined, but the IH states it understands it will be located in the Okanagan.
Ecotex has provided laundry and linen management services to hospitals, ambulatory care centres, and other medical facilities for more than 30 years. It has one location in Abbotsford, and five locations in the United States.
Health centres services affected by the privatization are located in Kelowna, Kamloops, Nelson, Penticton and Vernon.
The hospitals in 100 Mile House, Golden, Ashcroft, Princeton, Lillooet and Williams Lake keep their own laundry services.
“Interior Health laundry employees have delivered high quality service to our patients for many years, and I understand they may feel disappointed with this decision,” says IH board chair Erwin Malzer.
“While there will be job displacement within our sites, we believe the commitment by Ecotex to build a facility in the Southern Interior and hire residents from our region will offset some of the impact felt. “We will also work with the HEU to support laundry employees as they consider options for the future, whether that is through accessing vacancies or retraining.”
IH states that a total of 93 full-time equivalent positions will be impacted by the decision.
“The number of 93 that people are hearing about is full-time equivalent positions, says Matfin, a lot of workers hold part-time positions.”
It is disheartening the B.C. Liberal government doesn’t take into account the cost of privatization, she says, adding the new private jobs will be minimum wage, which is basically living in poverty.
“All of the [HEU] workers are making wages they can support their families with. They pay substantial taxes and use their wages to contribute to their local and provincial economies.”
Malzer notes that with an anticipated savings of about $35 million over the life of the contract, IH will be able to increase its investment in facilities and equipment to support direct patient care, including necessary upgrades and expansions of emergency departments and operating rooms.
Almost 13,000 citizens had signed a petition opposing the privatization scheme and against the loss of jobs, and various municipal councils passed motions objecting to it.
The District of 100 Mile House council was one of the councils that sent in letters in support of protecting the jobs and services.
Matfin says the HEU commends the District and Cariboo Regional District for passing motions in support of in-house laundry, and appreciates the support from the community.
“The council, Cariboo Regional District and the Cariboo Chilcotin Regional Hospital District, as well as all the [HEU] workers worked together and sent in letters of opposition to the Ministry of Health, Mayor Mitch Campsall says, adding “it shows what working as a team can really do.”
“It’s good news for our community, but the concern is that it could still change.”