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'Cutting public sector jobs is a strange way to stimulate the struggling economy.' - Warren (Smokey) Thomas.
Kingston (18 Feb. 2010) - The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE) is calling on the McGuinty government to protect mental health services in the wake of at least 10 layoffs at Providence Care hospital.
The layoffs follow a pattern of similar cuts across the province in the run-up to the 2010 Ontario budget.
"Cutting public sector jobs is a strange way to stimulate the struggling economy," says OPSEU president Warren (Smokey) Thomas. "We won't pay down the deficit by putting Ontarians out of work."
OPSEU says hospitals have been told to plan for three scenarios - a funding freeze, a 1% or a 2% increase.
The cuts will impact services related to the integration of mental health patients with the community and the provision of outreach services. This includes individualized counselling associated with vocational services and leisure life skills.
The impending reorganization will see the number of nurses (RNs and RPNs) on the floors decrease and reduce front-line allied health staff. It will also see a decrease in the number of unregulated health professionals.
"The province and the Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) have told us that mental health is a major priority," says Sheryl Ferguson, president of OPSEU Local 431 at Providence Care. "It's time for them to stop talking about it and take action to save these services."
The cuts in Kingston ignore a recent consultant's report on the operation of the hospital, including improvement of staff to patient ratios. No mention of management jobs has yet been made although the report called for the management model to be fixed.
Annual savings are expected to be $2.5 million beginning with $1.7 million in 2010/11.
OPSEU says the layoffs include the presidents of two OPSEU Locals, a move that signals "a new chill in labour relations" at Providence Care. The cuts have occurred in spite of a $1 million grant Providence Care received last year to support programs aimed at recruitment and retention.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE