Union to protest job cuts at North Bay hospital

Unionized workers at the North Bay Regional Health Centre are planning to hold a rally on Wednesday, in the wake of a recent announcement that 40 positions are being cut as the hospital grapples with a $5.6 million deficit. (File)

Unionized workers at the North Bay Regional Health Centre are planning to hold a rally on Wednesday, in the wake of a recent announcement that 40 positions are being cut as the hospital grapples with a $5.6 million deficit.

“On Wednesday at 11:30 a.m., hospital staff represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Ontario Nurses Association and Ontario Public Service Employees Union, in coordination with the local chapter of the Ontario Health Coalition, are holding a rally outside the hospital demanding that the government fund the hospital properly,” CUPE said in a news release Tuesday.

While 40 full- and part-time positions are being eliminated, the hospital said in the announcement last month that actual layoffs could be much lower when retirement and attrition are factored in, as well as the fact that 14 new positions are being created.

However, CUPE said the hospital should be adding staff, not cutting positions.

“We have nurses, PSWs and clerical staff who are desperate for more hands on deck. I recently spoke with a nurse who cries in the washroom on her breaks because it is heart-wrenching for her to not be able to provide the care that people need,” Mike Turgeon, president of CUPE 139, is quoted as saying in the release.

Government funding

CUPE 139 represents nearly 1,000 workers at the hospital.

“Implementing cuts at this time is showing a serious disregard for the needs of patients and staff. The government needs to step up and provide the funding that we desperately need.”

CUPE said that official data shows that only 41 per cent of ER patients at the North Bay hospital are admitted within the target time of eight hours. The average wait time is 17 hours.

According to an analysis by CUPE, the hospital must add 120 staff annually to keep up with growing patient volumes.

“These cuts are going to hurt people. You’re going to burn staff out by dumping more responsibility on their shoulders when they are already struggling to keep up with workloads,” said Sharon Richer, secretary-treasurer of CUPE’s hospital division.

“It’s going to mean longer wait times and poorer service. It’s an unconscionable move and we are not going to accept this.”

The protest begins at the hospital on College Drive on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m.