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Over a hundred front-line health care workers from across Ontario joined CUPE 4365 workers at Toronto’s Rouge Valley Hospital System today during a sun-spotted rally and info-picket to protest proposed job and service cuts.
The rally, attended by CUPE members from Kingston, Sudbury, Ottawa, Kenora and Brampton, as well as by members of the Ontario Public Sector Employees’ Union (OPSEU), was fortunate to take place in an interlude between rain showers.
But it’s the management at RVHS that is all wet, according to union spokespeople, angered by the threat to health care services in the communities of Scarborough, Ajax and Pickering.
Hospitals in these communities face losing 220 front-line workers and nurses, 36 beds cut and services cut or transferred out of their home base.
Making things worse, the Rouge Valley Hospital System is planning on cutting 24 cleaning staff while increasing bed occupancy rates from 82 to 95 per cent, a recipe for disaster when it comes to containing hospital-acquired infections like C. difficile.
It is insane to lay off front-line workers at a time when we have seen a massive increase in preventable hospital deaths, said CUPE Ontario President Sid Ryan. When you have the kind of problem with superbugs like we do, cutting cleaners and raising occupancy rates just increases the threat to our health.
This hospital here is running into dangerous waters, Ryan warned.
Betty Flood, First Vice-President of CUPE 4365 promised further action, promising to build links between her union and the community. We’re going to mobilize in our local and in our community to turn this around! Flood said to cheers from the diverse crowd of workers and community activists.
OPSEU First Vice-President and Treasurer Patty Rout was also on hand to bring her union’s perspective, calling on the new minister of health and long-term care, David Caplan, to keep it public.
Captain Privatization is looking after our health care system? No way! We’re going to win this fight! vowed Rout.
