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Read a story about any of the mass firings going on in British Columbias hospitals and youll read about how much money the company offering the privatized service will save the hospital.

There will be lots of talk about efficiency and expertise but at the end of the day, the savings come from one thing gutting workers wages.

Thousands of workers most of them women, many of them with decades of experience as health care workers are being given two choices. Walk away or apply for your old job at half the wages, no benefits and no pension.

The fact is, depending on your family circumstances and the cost of living in your hometown, privatization can plunge you into poverty.

According to one survey, Canada is already the cheapest industrialized country to do business in. And corporate profits are higher than they’ve ever been.

Is it really necessary to ruin workers’ lives, endanger the health of patients, and dismantle the health care system to offer up even more profit to the likes of Carillion, Aramark and Sodexho?

If youre a health care worker, the Privatization Poverty Calculator shows you what you will face and what hospital workers in BC are facing when the privateers come to town.

If youre not a health care worker, the calculator gives you a sense of what its like to be in their shoes and reminds you how important it is to resist privatization in your sector.