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The shortage of blood supplies across Canada is due, in part, to
aggressive layoffs and reduced hours, according to representatives of more than
2,000 Canadian Blood Service workers.
On Oct. 29 CBS announced that it was down to a two-day supply
for most blood types across Canada, placing hospitals on notice that surgeries
may need to be postponed.
The shortage coincides with implementation of layoffs announced
in May, including 51 in Ontario from donor and clinic services. Another 50 jobs
are expected to be shed as CBS works towards its new, big box super centre in
Ontario.
“On the one hand CBS claims blood demand is going up by 3 per
cent per year, on the other, they are shedding jobs and shortening hours –
particularly for donor recruitment,” says Sean Allen, Chair of the Ontario
Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)-CBS & Diagnostics Division. “Their
optimization plan is not working. It is placing our blood supply at risk.”
Thirty-five CBS worker representatives from across Canada
gathered in Ottawa last week to compare notes on their employer’s drive to do
more with less.
“This is first and foremost about cost cutting – not enhancing
quality and safety,” says Brenda Thompson, president OPSEU of Local 210. “It is
having a negative impact on our ability to do the work.”
The workers are asking that CBS place a moratorium on layoffs
and changes to clinic hours until an assessment can be done on the impact of
jobs cuts on the present shortages.
Canadian Blood Services workers are represented across Canada by
affiliates of the National Union of Public and General Employees, the Canadian
Union of Public Employees, the Hospital Employees Union and the Nova Scotia
Union of Public and Private Employees.
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For more information:
Sean Allen, 613-794-2565 (cell) or Tracy More, 416-443-8888 ext 8702
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