FLASHBACK RALPH KLEIN DID THIS IN THE NINETIES, AND SOLD OUR TAXPAYER FUNDED
LAUNDRY SERVICES TO TORY BACKERS WHO OWNED K BRO LAUNDRY SERVICES,
KLEIN SOLD THEM THE HOSPITALS LAUNDRY EQUIPMENT AS WELL AS SERVICES.
K BRO IS NOW NORTH AMERICAN WIDE, AS A PRIVATE LAUNDRY PROVIDER
PART OF THE ORACLE OF OMAHA'S BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY GROUP.
AND OF COURSE K BRO HAS NEVER DECREASED THEIR PRICES TO SERVICE
OUR HOSPITALS.
AND LAST TIME THE WORKERS FOUGHT BACK AND WE ALMOST HAD A GENERAL
STRIKE IN SUPPORT, UNTIL THE UNIONS SOLD THE WORKERS OUT FOR A DEAL
EFF LABINE Updated: February 10, 2020
Alberta Health Services. IAN KUCERAK / POSTMEDIA
Alberta Health Services (AHS) is looking to save money by possibly outsourcing laundry services in communities outside of Edmonton and Calgary, but doing so could see hundreds of jobs cut.
In a letter sent out to the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) on Monday, AHS gave the heads up about possibly contracting out laundry services. The notice states that the cost to offer that service could be up to $40 million. The potential impacts on staffing, if the plan moves forward, would be about 275 positions spread across 54 health-care sites.
On the list includes Whitecourt, Peace River, Athabasca, Barrhead, Cold Lake, Drayton Valley, Red Deer, Stettler, Canmore, Okotoks, Medicine Hat and Wainwright. Laundry service would stay the same in Edmonton and Calgary.
AUPE responded to the idea with a news release decrying the potential move as AHS pushing for privatization of hospital laundry.
Mauro Chies, vice president of Cancer Control Alberta and Clinical Support Services with AHS, said in an email outsourcing is being considered following the Health Ministry’s review of the provincial health authority.
“Outsourcing of all linen services would be an evolution of the existing linen services business model, as we currently outsource just more than 68 per cent of our linen services,” Chies said. “We understand and appreciate that for some this feels like uncertainty. We have assured our staff, their unions and our community partners that we will be prudent in our decision-making, keeping Albertans at the core of all our considerations. This is about Albertans, and the health system that cares for Albertans, every day.”
The AHS review, released on Feb. 3, looked at ways the health authority could save money. According to the review, laundry and linen services has a budget of roughly $60 million. Edmonton and Calgary are covered by six AHS-operated regional processing plants and 44 on-site facilities. The review notes equipment and plants at several AHS-run facilities are nearing end of life and would need more than $200 million to maintain operations.
This isn’t the first time AHS has looked at outsourcing laundry.
In 2015, plans to avoid multimillion-dollar upgrades to laundry facilities by outsourcing the service to a private company were undone by the NDP government.
AUPE vice-president Susan Slade said the plan is just another step towards privatization.
“It doesn’t really need to happen,” she said. “It is taking out those services that are provided right at the hospital. When you keep it in-house, you have that constant supply of laundry. You aren’t going to run out whereas that does happen in the larger centres sometimes, especially on a busy weekend.”
Slade added the money being spent is a public service as opposed to providing a profit to a shareholder. She said the union plans to take action against the plan but didn’t provide any details.
If AHS does move forward with this plan, a request for a proposal would go out in late May. A contract would then be awarded and an implementation plan developed in November. The estimated timeline once a vendor is picked would be between three to 18 months for laundry to be outsourced.
jlabine@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/jefflabine
Alberta Health Services. IAN KUCERAK / POSTMEDIA
Alberta Health Services (AHS) is looking to save money by possibly outsourcing laundry services in communities outside of Edmonton and Calgary, but doing so could see hundreds of jobs cut.
In a letter sent out to the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) on Monday, AHS gave the heads up about possibly contracting out laundry services. The notice states that the cost to offer that service could be up to $40 million. The potential impacts on staffing, if the plan moves forward, would be about 275 positions spread across 54 health-care sites.
On the list includes Whitecourt, Peace River, Athabasca, Barrhead, Cold Lake, Drayton Valley, Red Deer, Stettler, Canmore, Okotoks, Medicine Hat and Wainwright. Laundry service would stay the same in Edmonton and Calgary.
AUPE responded to the idea with a news release decrying the potential move as AHS pushing for privatization of hospital laundry.
Mauro Chies, vice president of Cancer Control Alberta and Clinical Support Services with AHS, said in an email outsourcing is being considered following the Health Ministry’s review of the provincial health authority.
“Outsourcing of all linen services would be an evolution of the existing linen services business model, as we currently outsource just more than 68 per cent of our linen services,” Chies said. “We understand and appreciate that for some this feels like uncertainty. We have assured our staff, their unions and our community partners that we will be prudent in our decision-making, keeping Albertans at the core of all our considerations. This is about Albertans, and the health system that cares for Albertans, every day.”
The AHS review, released on Feb. 3, looked at ways the health authority could save money. According to the review, laundry and linen services has a budget of roughly $60 million. Edmonton and Calgary are covered by six AHS-operated regional processing plants and 44 on-site facilities. The review notes equipment and plants at several AHS-run facilities are nearing end of life and would need more than $200 million to maintain operations.
This isn’t the first time AHS has looked at outsourcing laundry.
In 2015, plans to avoid multimillion-dollar upgrades to laundry facilities by outsourcing the service to a private company were undone by the NDP government.
AUPE vice-president Susan Slade said the plan is just another step towards privatization.
“It doesn’t really need to happen,” she said. “It is taking out those services that are provided right at the hospital. When you keep it in-house, you have that constant supply of laundry. You aren’t going to run out whereas that does happen in the larger centres sometimes, especially on a busy weekend.”
Slade added the money being spent is a public service as opposed to providing a profit to a shareholder. She said the union plans to take action against the plan but didn’t provide any details.
If AHS does move forward with this plan, a request for a proposal would go out in late May. A contract would then be awarded and an implementation plan developed in November. The estimated timeline once a vendor is picked would be between three to 18 months for laundry to be outsourced.
jlabine@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/jefflabine
