CUPE, representing staff at the Group Health Centre, is sounding the alarm after being notified by management of its intention to create a new job classification which would merge the work of clerical staff and RPNs. The job description, issued on Friday, clearly downloads work performed by Registered Practical Nurses to unlicensed clerical staff.
“This is dangerous,” said Tracy Fabbricino, president of CUPE 894. “It’s dangerous for the practitioners, and it is dangerous for the patients. It also opens Group Health Centre to unnecessary liabilities. Asking staff without a nursing licence to do the work of an RPN is just not worth the risk.”
CUPE 894, which is slated to begin contract negotiations in late January, is filing a grievance demanding that management respect the collective agreement and bargaining process. “The timing of this can’t be clearer. Management is trying to undermine our union solidarity, while undermining our union work at the expense of the public.”
Currently, clerical staff manage the daily comings and goings that keep the clinics operating, while RPNs and other specialist staff assist in providing care for the over 60,000 registered patients in the Algoma region. “RPNs and clerical staff each have different skills, and different requirements. Nurses require licencing and take on the liability of direct care,” added Fabbricino. “By forcing unlicensed workers in roles where they are expected to provide direct care without the years of training, professional certification, and liability insurance that come with that, it’s a big risk for that worker, and the patients they are being expected to care for.”
Today CUPE 894 will be filing a grievance and submitting an unfair labour practice to the Ministry of Labour. Union members are actively pushing back against this dangerous and short-sighted attempt to cut costs at the expense of patient safety.
