Hamilton hospital union vows to fight 413 job cuts amid funding shortfall

HAMILTON — The union representing health care workers at Hamilton Health Sciences says it will fight the planned elimination of 413 jobs until the provincial government provides more funding to restore care.

"The conditions of care at HHS are already unacceptable due to ongoing staffing shortages, long-wait times in the emergency department, delays to surgical care, the struggle to tend to patients’ daily needs," said Jillian Watt, president of CUPE 7800, which represents 4,750 workers.

"The additional 413 cuts will accelerate the vicious cycle of understaffing, poor patient outcomes and staff burnout due to insufficient staffing."

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The union is holding a rally at 12 p.m. on Tuesday, October 13, with a town hall meeting planned for Hamilton residents on November 10. Hundreds are expected to attend the rally.

Michael Hurley, president of CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, said the decision to cut more staff and services at HHS is unacceptable.

He said the government must fund the hospital to meet its real operating costs. Last year HHS lost two per cent in real dollar funding and it is projected to lose almost three per cent this year, which is driving the staffing cuts.

"Patients pay a very heavy price for these ongoing funding cuts. Many are cared for on stretchers in hospital hallways due to a shortage of staffed beds. Thousands are waiting longer for surgeries than is medically recommended because of staff shortages. Emergency departments are backlogged and the wait times there and for surgery are unacceptable," Hurley said.

"Every single patient deserves timely treatment and CUPE will continue fighting until we achieve that."

The union argues that the hospital requires a significant boost in frontline staff to process, assess and treat patients in a timely manner. It points to the 24-hour admission wait-times for ER patients as a warning sign, noting the provincial government’s target wait-time for the ER is eight hours.

The rally on October 13 is expected to draw hundreds, including Candace Rennick, secretary-treasurer of CUPE National; Yolanda McClean, president of CUPE Ontario; and Laura Walton, president of the Ontario Federation of Labour.

With files from CUPE