A strike vote from 鈥渉ealthcare heroes鈥� will take place at seven B.C. seniors facilities owned and operated by Good Samaritan Canada in the coming week.

Staff at the facilities 鈥� which include Heron Grove in Vernon; Hillside Village and Pioneer Lodge in Salmon Arm, and Village by the Station in Penticton 鈥� are represented by the Hospital Employees鈥� Union (HEU). They say they鈥檝e been without a contract for three years, and that Good Samaritan Canada refuses to bargain.

Two contentious issues are benefits and the potential removal of contracting out protection language from the collective agreement.

One HEU member, who asked not to be identified, told Black Press Media the employer hiked the cost of the members鈥� benefits plan by 29 per cent but offered no modest improvements.

鈥淭he employer is also demanding removing of contracting-out protections from the collective agreement,鈥� said the member. 鈥淭hey want the right to contract out any Good Sam job at any time.

鈥淚f they contract out, all of us lose our jobs.鈥�

At Heron Grove, there are close to 80 full-, part-time and casual workers who help look after residents in 40 assisted living units and 72 long-term care beds.

According to the HEU bargaining committee, the employer last spent money on the membership in 2019 with a wage increase of only 65 cents per hour.

The employer, said the HEU, is not offering any increase until Jan. 1, 2024, and it鈥檚 a minimal shift differential.

Good Samaritan Canada, said the HEU, is also not into discussing health benefits, sick leave provision, or even the addition of Sept. 30, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, as a statutory holiday.

鈥淚t鈥檚 frustrating,鈥� said the HEU member. 鈥淒uring the pandemic, we were being called 鈥榟ealthcare heroes.鈥� We worked our butts off. We kept our residents safe. We sacrificed our own time away from our own families, and we sacrificed our families at the height of the pandemic.

鈥淚n the first year (of the pandemic) we were the only family that residents had because families were not allowed to come in and see them.鈥�

Good Samaritan Canada president and CEO Dr. Katherine Chubbs says Good Sam 鈥渋s committed to maintaining a good relationship with our unions and we will continue negotiating in good faith.鈥�

鈥淲e remain optimistic that negotiations will result in an agreement,鈥漵aid Chubbs. 鈥淩esident care remains our number one priority and we will do our utmost to ensure that is maintained. Collective bargaining is sometimes a long process. With COVID-19, bargaining was paused for a period of time, but it resumed in 2021 and we have been meeting since then.

鈥淲e cannot comment on specifics of collective bargaining.鈥�

HEU has begun a campaign and is bringing it to its members of the seven facilities in B.C.

Frontline workers, said the union, are doing their best to provide quality care, but some organizations, like Good Samaritan, 鈥渁re refusing to renew contracting out protections which is one of four key improvements to seniors鈥� care that Care Can鈥檛 Wait is calling for.鈥�

Good Samaritan Canada is a not-for-profit organization.

The union said it can make new care spaces public or non-profit, not operated by private companies.

Fix the staffing crisis and force private companies to follow regulations, meet standards and increase transparency.

Strike votes are slated to begin the week of July 17.

Good Samaritan Canada also operates facilities in B.C. in Gibsons, Delta and New Westminster.

This story was updated Wednesday, July 12, at 10:15 a.m. with comments from Good Samaritan Canada

roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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