CUPE NL wants answers on 'shared services' scheme


CORNER BROOK, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR--(Marketwired - Nov. 4, 2015) - The union representing 1,800 health care workers at Western Health is asking for answers from the Department of Health and Community Services about its proposed 'shared services' scheme.

CUPE NL President Wayne Lucas says, "This plan could see more than 200 health care jobs being eliminated from the health authorities across the province and with them, the services those workers provided.

"The department has stated that many services now provided by Western Health (and other Regional Health Authorities) will be moved elsewhere in the province to a new stand-alone shared services organization. These include jobs in purchasing, human resources, information technology and telecommunications, marketing and communications, and finance and payroll," says Lucas.

CUPE National Representative Donna Ryan says she has requested a meeting with Denise Tubrett, Assistant Deputy Minister of the Department of Health and Community Services, to get some answers to these questions. Tubrett sits on the government's implementation team.

Says Ryan, "We need to know the impact this new shared services organization will have on health care workers and the vital public services they deliver in Western Health."

Contact Information:

Wayne Lucas
President, CUPE NL
(709) 727-2509 (m)

John McCracken
CUPE Communications Representative
(902) 880-8057 (m)