Vancouver Coastal Health welcomes back 526 hospital food-service workers

CANADA, September 2 - Harry Bains, Minister of Labour –

“Returning these vital workers to Vancouver Coastal Health as employees is the right thing to do. All workers deserve to be treated with fairness and respect. These individuals, as well as people accessing health care in the Lower Mainland, will benefit from Bill 47.”

David Eby, MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey –

“Our public health-care system is precious to British Columbians, but it’s only as strong as the health workers who support us by delivering services. Treating health-care workers with dignity and respect means better care for everyone. By bringing private workers back to the public system, we strengthen health care for everyone, and that’s great news for our province.”

Kelly Greene, MLA for Richmond-Stevenson –

“All workers in British Columbia, especially those who played a critical role in maintaining the integrity of our health-care system during the pandemic, deserve wages that ensure dignity for themselves and their families. Through Bill 47, our government is returning food-service workers in the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority to their rightful place as valued workers in our public health-care system.”

George Heyman, MLA for Vancouver-Fairview –

“By providing our health-care services workers with the wages and working conditions they deserve, we are strengthening not only our health-care system, but also our communities. I am proud of the ongoing progress made under Bill 47 and look forward to welcoming more workers back to the public service.”

Aman Singh, MLA for Richmond-Queensborough –

“The decision to contract out the jobs of health-care support staff led to financial insecurity for thousands of workers, many of whom are women and people of colour. By ensuring health-care support workers once again receive the wages and job security they deserve, we are improving the quality of our health-care system while fighting systemic inequality.”

Henry Yao, MLA for Richmond South Centre –

“I am excited to see the ongoing impacts of Bill 47 as more and more workers return to the public system as Vancouver Coastal Health employees. Ensuring that workers are treated with fairness and respect will also ensure that patients receive the high-quality care they deserve.”

Vivian Eliopoulos, president and CEO, Vancouver Coastal Health –

“Vancouver Coastal Health values the partnership we’ve had with food-service staff, and we are very pleased to welcome them back to VCH. Food-service staff play a critical role in providing for the nutritional needs of patients, clients and residents across our acute and community sites. We greatly appreciate the contributions of our food-service staff over the years and we look forward to their reintegration, which will enhance the experiences of those we care for every day.”

Meena Brisard, secretary-business manager, Hospital Employees’ Union –

“HEU members are proud to welcome food-service workers back into the health-care team. By bringing these vital jobs back into the public service, the government is reversing nearly two decades of privatization that fragmented our health-care system and devastated the lives of thousands of workers, most of whom are women or racialized workers. Reuniting them with the health-care team recognizes their essential work and improves their lives by providing better wages and benefits, which leads to less turnover and an improved public health-care system for all of us.”