To the editor:
The provincial government’s plan to outsource hospital laundry services to a private corporation will eliminate 175 jobs throughout the Interior that pay livable wages, including full-time employment lost in 100 Mile House.
These jobs will all be transferred to a private sector well known for paying some of the lowest wages in the province. It is difficult to believe that private cleaners will be bound to, and carry out, the same standards of quality, cleanliness, and efficiency that currently exist in our local facilities.
Logistically, the long distances between the provider and the hospital would also increase the risks of shortages and improper sanitation. The risk of endangering the safety of patients is significant if this decision by Interior Health prevails.
Local jobs would be lost to Alberta or the Lower Mainland, where the laundry would be trucked back and forth. The bottom line of the contractor is the profit margin.
Make no mistake – when their loads of overhead expenses increase year by year, the taxpayer will be left on the hook.
Taking into account all of the economic and societal impacts, this move will end up costing far more than it ever would if hospital laundry was left where it should be – in the hospitals.
By keeping this vital operation going in 100 Mile House, the taxes we pay for this service will be returned to our own community and its infrastructure – not into the pockets of contractors.
Big business ideology does not often serve well for the majority of the province, namely rural communities such as ours. Non-resourced based, decent paying, long-term jobs are few and far between, and unnecessarily loosing them to far-away, highly populated regions is a big slap in the face.
I respectfully call on local MLA Donna Barnett and Mayor Mitch Campsall to demand that British Columbia Minister of Health Terry Lake cancel plans to outsource jobs away from our community.
Steve Monk
108 Mile Ranch
