Community activists angry that Sally Ann has rejected two separate proposals to deal with budget pressures
The Salvation Army’s Sunset Lodge long-term care facility in Victoria is behind a picket line this afternoon, as community activists protest the Sally Ann’s refusal to negotiate alternatives to privatization that would keep 60 skilled and experienced health care workers on the job.
That picket line is being respected by members of the B.C. Nurses Union and the Hospital Employees’ Union (CUPE) scheduled to work the afternoon shift.
Essential services are being maintained to safeguard the well being of the Lodge’s 100 residents, say local union representatives.
The protest picket went up after a noon hour community rally today in support of HEU members who are set to be sacked Aug. 9 when the Sally Ann will contract out all direct care and support services they provide. Many of those workers have been at the facility since it first opened 24 years ago.
Late last week, the facility administrator rejected an HEU proposal that would have offered contract concessions of more than $200,000 the Salvation Army said it needed to avert its privatization plans.
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Contact:
Stephen Howard, HEU communications director (604) 240-8524