Smitherman comments “slap in the face” to front line workers
TORONTO: Health Minister George Smitherman’s recent comments that hospital support work should be contracted out were disrespectful and offensive to front-line hospital workers, says OPSEU.
The union was reacting to the Minister’s comment printed Oct. 21: “Just because it is a public health-care system doesn't mean that we can ... afford to pay more for the same services, that we should expect to pay more to sweep the floor in a hospital ... or to administer a hospital.”
“If the Minister thinks our wages are too high, or that we should not have union protection, benefits and pensions, let him do our work the next time a major epidemic hits Ontario hospitals,” said Rose Dawkins, chair of the OPSEU health care support division, who works at The Scarborough Hospital. “Let him sweep.”
“This is a slap in the face for the people who protected our province from SARS. George Smitherman needs to spend more time speaking to front-line hospital workers instead of CEOs and senior bureaucrats,” said OPSEU President Leah Casselman. “We’ve been trying for months to get him to do just that.”
OPSEU, representing about 30,000 workers in health care, works with community coalitions to fight the costly practice of contracting out services for profit in Ontario’s hospitals.
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For further information:
David Cox, OPSEU Communications, 416-788-9197
