Defend Public Healthcare

Well, we found out a little bit more about where the government's hospital funding is going with the announcement of $100 million for 'payment for results' funding yesterday.  And it pretty much summed up what's wrong with this approach. First: unlike global funding (set at a mighty 1.5% or less ) this funding is centrally controlled.  Local hospitals have to spend it as directed by the central government, whatever local needs actually are.   Second: the government (and local Liberal MPPs) primarily see these announcements as a media opportunity, parading it to the media as their latest accomplishment.  If you keep everybody guessing where the money is going and when it is coming, you can always manufacture a media story.  Think of a manipulative and stingy Santa Claus.  Moreover, this model favours whatever item is politically expedient at the moment.  How can the government get headlines?  So much for a rational process focused on human needs. Third: The mo

Now here's a heck of a good question, headlining this Leftwords 'letter of the day'... Where is MPP when hospital needs defending? The Peterborough Examiner, Thu Jul 29 2010, Page: A4 Dear Editor, Two articles in the July 27 edition of The Peterborough Examiner struck me as ironic: the front page article "Layoff notices for 85 RNs" and on Page 3 an article "Leal defends himself." Jeff Leal attended the July 5 city council meeting where the Peterborough Regional Health Centre's financial recovery plan was discussed and on July 15 met with members of the Local Health Integration Network. He supported the same plan that starts by laying off 85 hard-working health care professionals. Ironic that Mr. Leal, who campaigned on his local ties to the community, would support such a devastating plan for PRHC and the services the hospital provides. It appears he has no interest in defending the Peterborough hospital. PETE WRIGHT Kawartha Heig

CUPE Local 1943 president Karen Ward has broken the news that Peterborough Regional Health Centre is planning to lay off 42 CUPE members.  CUPE's employment security language may help divert some of this into early retirements and voluntary exits. The hospital has already eliminated another 31 CUPE positions, through attrition and a hiring freeze. The hospital is meeting with its four union locals to deal with the layoffs. Earlier, the Ontario Nurses Association announced that 85 RNs will be given layoff notices with another 44 RN positions already eliminated. The two OPSEU locals at the hospital have already seen the loss of positions -- indeed, over 50 hospital paramedical and office positions remain vacant. A total of 182.3 full time equivalent positions (283 actual jobs ) are supposed to be eliminated across the hospital, making this the biggest hospital cuts since the Rouge Valley Health Centre. The community has held rallies and planted lawn signs demanding local Liberal

Research by Robert Kavcic of BMO Nesbitt Burns suggests that Ontario deficit numbers will be favorably revised (again), in the near term, due to better than expected economic growth (and job growth). "Ontario saw annualized real GDP growth of 6.8% and 6.2% in the two quarters through 2010Q1, the strongest pace since 1999. Our Provincial Economic Momentum Index (PEMI), made up of 36 monthly indicators, also suggests that activity in the province is growing at a full standard deviation above the trend rate, and points to further upside in real GDP growth in the months ahead.Employment has been a key support to the province’s momentum, sprinting 3.1% in the past year, the fastest rate in Canada and nearly recouping all of the job losses seen during the recession…. Regardless of how growth plays out in the quarters ahead, the recent performance of Ontario’s economy has been substantially better than the Province expected in its FY2010/11 budget.” While the bank report (predictabl

Niagara Police were just awarded close to 10% over 3 through an interest arbitration award. (Interest arbitrations are a way to settle contract disputes for 'essential' workers without using strikes or lockouts. In Ontario, they are typically used for police and  fire fighters as well as  hospital and long term care employees).  The Niagara contract expires December 2011 and the  award comes from the well known arbitrator George Adams, who was the chair of the OCHU-Ontario Hospital  interest arbitration that covered the years 1995-2001. Despite all the compensation complaints (histrionics?)  from the provincial government, the Niagara Council Chair is much more sanguine: "It is what it is. This is the decision of the arbitrator. We'll accept that and will now move forward for the next three years." For more on this, see here  . dallan@cupe.ca

Holding the line on those salaries .... is a linchpin of the government's plan to eliminate Ontario's $21.3-billion deficit.  ( Windsor Star -- See here .  My emphasis.  ) This seems to be the  notion  behind the government's compensation freeze proposal. I use "notion" advisedly here:  this doesn't really qualify as a full fledged 'idea'. Here's why. Some have suggested the wage freeze might 'save' $750 million next year. But that is a gross exaggeration.  The government (and government backed employers) have already signed contracts with the major public sector bargaining groups for this year, next year, and, often, beyond that. So any savings aren't going to happen for these groups any time soon.  And, of course, decreasing the real wages of a large chunk of workers will have a negative impact on the economy and local jobs. The incomes of working people support local economies - more so than corporate profits (that are ge

"The purpose of the consultations is to provide opportunities for broader public sector bargaining agents, employers and the government to engage in a dialogue about how we can work together to manage compensation expense in a fair manner that protects key public services ," said ...Tim Hadwen, assistant deputy minister of the Labour Relations Secretariat. (My  emphasis. -- DA) This has been the consistent argument from the provincial government -- we are freezing wages to protect public services.  However,  we have not seen too much protection of public services in the hospital sector, so far. On Tuesday, for example, the government appointed Central East LHIN approved plans to cut 182 full time hospital jobs at Peterborough Regional Health Centre. Cornwall, which announced plans to cut 30 jobs, had 22 patients in ER on Friday waiting for a hospital bed. And despite all this, we get a steady drone from the government that they are not cutting hospital services. So i