Liberal ad upsets workers losing jobs at seniors’ homes in Sechelt

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The BC Liberal candidate for Powell River-Sunshine Coast has come under fire for suggesting jobs at two soon-to-be closed seniors’ homes in Sechelt are safe.

Union leaders say there’s no doubt the 100 workers will be fired when a privately-operated replacement opens next year.

Mathew Wilson‘s April 28th ad in a local newspaper states “Workers should not be worried. Wage rates will be the same as they are for Shorncliffe and Totem Lodge,” but Jennifer Whiteside with the Hospital Employees Union says that’s not true.

“I don’t know what he’s talking about or where he gets his information from. We’ve been told that they’ll be 18-20 dollars an hour, 15 to 20 per cent less than what they’re currently earning…. There’s no pension, there’s fewer benefits. There’s no security and that’s causing deep, deep anxiety. Workers, you know, in some cases, have been working, providing care to seniors on the Sunshine Coast for more than a decade.”

She also says Vancouver Coastal Health executives could easily tell private operators they’re obligated to hire the existing workforce, but they choose not to and the private operators of the facility replacing Shorncliffe Care Centre and Totem Lodge, Trellis Seniors Services Ltd, may never re-hire these workers.

“When the only publicly-operated longterm care facilities on the lower Sunshine Coast are privatized, the entire care workforce will be fired. That’s been made clear.”

Whiteside adds, since 2001, extensive privatization has seen wages at other care homes slashed up to 20 per cent.

\NEWS 1130 has reached out for comment from Mathew Wilson and the BC Liberals, but no one’s returned our calls or replied to our emails.

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