Victoria – People in acute care facilities will have more consistent, safe and stable patient care, now that government is bringing thousands of support service workers and services that were previously contracted out, back to work directly for health authorities, after almost 20 years of these services being contracted to private companies.
The contracted out measure was under the previous Liberal Governments.
Beginning this fall, the Province will serve notice under the terms of 21 commercial service contracts and start a phased approach to repatriating housekeeping and food-service contracts. The move will improve wages, working conditions, job security and stability for approximately 4,000 workers who rely on their jobs, and the countless patients that they help each day. By promoting a stable and effective workforce, government will be better positioned to offer attractive jobs options to people interested in joining the workforce.
Contracts to be repatriated by health authority
Fraser Health:
- Sodexo, 297 FTE, housekeeping
- Aramark, 214 FTE, housekeeping
- Compass, 132 FTE, mixed services
- Sodexo, 63 FTE, mixed services
“Health-care workers rely on a committed and stable workforce to help them with their jobs, and this move also better protects support service workers in their positions,” said Premier John Horgan.
This move started with Bill 47 (Health Sector Statutes Repeal Act), which was brought into force through regulation on July 1, 2019. Bill 47 repealed two existing pieces of legislation – the Health and Social Services Delivery Improvement Act (Bill 29) and the Health Sector Partnerships Agreement Act (Bill 94), which facilitated contracting out in the health sector and caused significant labour impacts
