Union will announce immediate legal action to counter deceitful and dishonourable government claims that contracts are `sweetheart’ deals
The Hospital Employees’ Union will today formally respond to legislation introduced Friday by the Campbell government that guts collective agreement provisions for tens of thousands of health care providers and opens the door to widespread health service cuts in communities across B.C.
The media conference is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. today in the Hemlock Room at the Legislature in Victoria.
HEU’s secretary-business manager Chris Allnutt will outline immediate legal actions his union will initiate against Premier Campbell and cabinet ministers to put an end to deceitful and dishonourable government claims that HEU’s contracts were `sweetheart’ deals and that the union had conducted bargaining in an inappropriate manner.
After reading the fine print of the legislation, the union will also provide concrete examples of how it represents a fundamental attack on basic rights and freedoms. In addition, it will provide background details of how the sledgehammer law will impact caregivers and health services in communities across the province, and how a decade of improved labour relations will now be scuttled.
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For more information, please contact
Stephen Howard, communications officer, 604/240-8524
PLEASE NOTE CHRIS ALLNUTT WILL BE AVAILABLE TO REGIONAL MEDIA ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON PLEASE CONTACT MIKE OLD AT 604/456-7036 (DIRECT) OR 604/828-6771 (CELL)