HEU takes cuts

By Dan Hilborn, Burnaby Now assistant editor
Published Nov. 18, 2003


Unionized staff at George Derby Centre veteran's hospital in Burnaby are the latest Hospital Employees' Union members to vote in favour of drastic wage rollbacks and pay cuts in order to save their jobs.

The rollbacks, which were approved by a 60 per cent vote of the affected workers at the centre, will claw back as much as 13.6 per cent of the pay already earned by employees at the hospital since Sept. 1 this year.

Margie Blamey, a spokesperson for the HEU, said accepting the rollbacks was not an easy decision to make, however, union members felt the only other alternative would have been to lose their jobs completely.

"What our members are telling us is that they would rather work, and work for the people they know, in the facilities they know," Blamey said this week. "They also want to keep their union.

"By negotiating a concession deal they still have all the other provisions and protection of a union and that's important. Plus they're staying in the jobs they know and love."

Similar concession deals, all of which have separate rollback and wage cut provisions, were previously approved by HEU members at the Normanna, Dania Home and St. Michael's Centre care homes in Burnaby.

Under terms of the George Derby deal, different workers will take different wage cuts.

All the employees have agreed to relinquish a 3.2 per cent Cost of Living Adjustment plus a variable pay equity adjustment that took effect on April 1.

A further "across the board" $1 per hour pay cut and clawback to Sept. 1 will impact all George Derby support service employees whose classifications are laundry, housekeeping and cleaners, food services, receiver, art work staff, recreation and clerical workers.

Other services that are not included by the $1 per hour cut will get their own 'across the board' cut of 35-cents per hour, again retroactive to Sept. 1.

There is an additional 'general' wage reduction of 22-cents per hour for support service group and an eight-cents per hour wage reduction union employees for the period Sept.. 1 20003 to March 31, 2004.

One of the hardest hit groups are the red circled Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) who will be reclassified as care aides. Not only do they lose their higher pay rate, but they are also subject to other cuts and clawbacks.

The concession agreement also requires HEU members to work an additional 1.5 hours per week, with all the above noted pay cuts pro rated over the extra hours.

Workers will also lose one week of holiday per year, and the premium overtime rates paid when they worked on statutory holidays.

According to Blamey, the cuts are significant for all classifications.

LPNs who stay in their current job classification will see their wages cut from about $23.93 per hour to a new rate of $21.62 an hour, a decrease and clawback of 9.6 per cent.

Recreation workers who formerly made $22.55 per hour will be hit with a rollback and pay cut of $2.98 per hour, a decrease of 13.2 per cent.

Housekeepers who were paid $18.91 per hour will now make $16.34 per hour, a reduction and clawback of 13.5 per cent.

Blamey noted that non-union workers doing similar jobs are often paid about $9 per hour, so the concession deal is better than the alternative.

"These are big deals," Blamey said.

Similar concession deals, all of which have separate rollback and wage cut provisions, were previously approved by HEU members at the Normanna, Dania Home and St. Michael's Centre care homes in Burnaby.

Under terms of the George Derby deal, different workers will take different wage cuts.

All the employees have agreed to relinquish a 3.2 per cent Cost of Living Adjustment plus a variable pay equity adjustment that took effect on April 1.

A further "across the board" $1 per hour pay cut and clawback to Sept. 1 will impact all George Derby support service employees whose classifications are laundry, housekeeping and cleaners, food services, receivers, art work staff, recreation and clerical workers.

Other services that are not included by the $1 per hour cut will get their own 'across the board' cut of 35-cents per hour, again retroactive to Sept. 1.

There is an additional 'general' wage reduction of 22-cents per hour for the support service group and an eight-cents per hour wage reduction for other employees for the period Sept. 1, 2003 to March 31, 2004.

One of the hardest hit groups are the red circled Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) who will be reclassified as care aides. Not only do they lose their higher pay rate, but they are also subject to other cuts and clawbacks.

The concession agreement also requires HEU members to work an additional 1.5 hours per week, with all the above noted pay cuts pro rated over the extra hours.

Workers will also lose one week of holiday per year, and the premium overtime rates paid when they worked on statutory holidays.

According to Blamey, the cuts are significant for all classifications.

LPNs who stay in their current job classification will see their wages cut from about $23.93 per hour to a new rate of $21.62 an hour, a decrease and clawback of 9.6 per cent.

Recreation workers who formerly made $22.55 per hour will be hit with a rollback and pay cut of $2.98 per hour, a decrease of 13.2 per cent.

Housekeepers who were paid $18.91 per hour will now make $16.34 per hour, a reduction and clawback of 13.5 per cent.

Blamey noted that non-union workers doing similar jobs are often paid about $9 per hour, so the concession deal is better than the alternative.

"These are big deals," Blamey said.