Today, the Minister of Health and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority outlined how nurses will be impacted by the ongoing changes to Winnipeg’s health care system. The WRHA told media that there will be a job for every nurse and that there will be work elsewhere in the system for nurses who are without a position during the transition.
MGEU is very concerned that other members of the health care team are not be treated similarly. The WRHA has been telling MGEU members of the health care team something very different:
· We have been told there will be significant net layoffs at Victoria General Hospital.
· We have been told that, even for those who will have a job in the end, many will be without work for a year or more while the Victoria Hospital is renovated.
· We have also been told that there will be more part-time jobs and fewer full-time jobs.
The Minister and the WRHA have not yet lived up to the commitment they made in April that there will be jobs for all front line staff in the WRHA.
“Why are nurses being given job security assurances and not others who also play a critical role in delivering health care? We think all members of the health care team should be treated fairly,” said MGEU President Michelle Gawronsky in media interviews today.
MGEU is also concerned about how patient care and front-line staff will be affected by the dramatic disruption and chaos being inflicted on our health care system by the WRHA and Minister of Health.
“We are particularly concerned by the news that some Victoria General Hospital programs will be out of operation for a year while renovations are under way,” said Gawronsky. “This is another example of the Minister and the WRHA moving too far, too fast, and putting patients and front-line health care workers at risk in the process.”