Grey Bruce Health Services has cut the jobs of seven
speech language pathologists and assistants and is hoping they will
apply for new jobs at the Grey Bruce Health Unit.
The hospital has issued a memo stating that they “were not
successful in reaching a seamless transfer of the program” that
helps children with speech problems.
Workers received notice of layoff March 31, 2011. Their final day
will be August 31.
The Ministry of Children and Youth approved transfer of the
service to the Grey Bruce Health Unit, but made no provision for the
pathologists and their assistants.
“The lack of a transfer agreement likely stems from an attempt by
the Health Unit to take on the work without paying the existing
salaries and benefits of the displaced workers,” says Warren
(Smokey) Thomas, President of the 130,000-member Ontario Public
Service Employees Union. “This is a bald-faced attempt to save money
on the backs of these workers.”
Whether the workers will migrate to the Health Unit is an open
question given extreme shortages of speech language pathologists
across the province. Many may choose to take the severance from the
hospital and work elsewhere.
The union is arguing the workers should be able to
transfer with their rights intact, as have other displaced health
care workers across the province.
“This is the health unit that can never get it right, so this is
not entirely a surprise,” says Thomas. “And the gamble may backfire:
If the health unit is unable to hire, parents may lose access to
speech language pathology for their children.”
The Public Sector Labour Relations Transition Act (PSLRTA) was
introduced to facilitate a broad range of transfers within the
health system. The Health Unit is arguing that they are outside the
definition of a health provider and should not be subject to the
legislation.
