The provincial government announced July 26 they were backing away from plans to build a new hospital through a public private partnership. While they cited technical reasons for their decision, theres no doubt the key factor was the pressure from CUPE members and their community allies.
The members of CUPE, and particularly Local 1779 in the East Prince region, worked very hard getting the message out to the public and that effort has paid off handsomely, said Division president Bill McKinnon.
Under the banner Public Works! Best for our Hospital, members wore buttons to work, distributed pamphlets and set up a hotline for Island residents to call.
This is the second big victory for CUPE PEI in recent months. In May, members of CUPE 501 won their battle to avert the privatization of the highly-successful Waste Watch program.
No matter how you cut it, P3s are a bad call, said McKinnon. They cost more, deliver less and line the pockets of wealthy investors. Im glad we were able to fight off the threat and hope the government has learned its lesson.