The union representing hospital workers in North Bay is decrying the dozens of job cuts announced last week at the North Bay Regional Health Centre. CUPE Local 139 president Mike Turgeon is blasting hospital leadership and the provincial government for downplaying the impact on patients. Turgeon said staff morale is very low since it was announced last week that 40 full- and part-time jobs were being eliminated at the hospital. “The staff are scared, furious, disheartened, disgusted,” he said. “They’re saying, ‘Yeah, I’m probably just going to leave and go on to those jobs outside of health care.’” The job cuts are a major setback that came completely out of the blue, Turgeon said. He said the union and management met six weeks ago and it was not mentioned. “(It was) a fiscal advisory committee meeting, where the employer is required to disclose to the union if there’s going to be any cuts,” Turgeon said. “If there are going to be cuts, they need to work with us from the beginning stages of planning on minimizing the number of cuts … We asked those questions. They never told us it was going to happen.” Affected positions include nurses, PSWs, clerical staff, a pharmacy technician and a patient food service worker. The hospital said last week that actual layoffs could be much lower than 40 when retirement and attrition are factored in, as well as the fact that 14 new positions are being created. Michael Hurley, president of CUPE Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, said the union is not giving up. “We’re going to pursue this because we’re afraid this 40 is going to be another 60 and then another 100,” Hurley said. Looking to save $5.6M “There’ll be downsizing of beds and this hospital would be a shell of what it should be.” The hospital is also reducing the number of physician leaders by 20 per cent as of Jan. 1. The goal is to find $5.6 million in savings. “We have done everything in our power to meet our financial target and find savings equal to two per cent of our budget,” Paul Heinrich, hospital president and CEO, wrote on Thursday. “Hospitals face a number of complex challenges, including operational pressures, financial constraints and an increased demand for services … Our priority is always to protect and maintain access to health care.” Rather than cutting staff positions, Turgeon suggested the hospital look at laying off hospital managers making six-figure salaries. “Manager numbers are still the same at 45, however, the vice-presidents increased by one. That’s a $250,000 a year job,” he said. “The directors have increased by three. That’s $180,000 a year job. That’s a good starting block.” Both Heinrich and Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli have said the job cuts won’t affect patient care. “This year, our government is investing $91 billion in health care, including an additional $1 billion for hospitals. For the North Bay Regional Health Centre, annual funding has grown by $49.3 million since 2020, representing a nearly 20 per cent increase,” Fedeli wrote in a statement Monday afternoon. “This is a significant increase in patient-focused funding -- and it’s why the changes announced as part of their long-term planning will not impact patients in North Bay.” “It just shows that they’re out of touch with reality and don’t work on the front lines,” Turgeon responded. “They don’t have to look in their patients’ eyes and say, ‘I won’t be back for 15 minutes. I have to go take care of another patient. We’re short again today.’” CUPE plans to hold a North Bay town hall-style meeting in December, along with rallies calling for changes within the health-care system.
