About 150 hospital support workers in New West won’t be taking job action, as the Hospital Employees’ Union reached a tentative agreement with Aramark.
After two long days at the table, the union was able to reach a tentative settlement late Tuesday night – similar to the Sodexo agreement of an increase of a dollar an hour over a term of four years and an improvement to health benefits, according to union spokesperson Bonnie Pearson.
“We’re pleased we were able to reach an agreement with Aramark without having to go to job action,” Pearson told The Record. “It was a long stretch, but I think people are cautiously optimistic about the results they wanted to achieve.”
Many housekeepers working in the Fraser Health Authority region need two jobs in order to make ends meet, and all members wanted was a living wage, the union has stated in the past.
“Obviously, this is a low-wage sector, and we’re always happy to bring it up higher, and we hope the members look at the overall balance of the agreement and find it meets their needs,” Pearson added.
Union members had delivered a 97 per cent strike mandate to the bargaining committee last week before negotiators met.
On Sept. 19, union members at Royal Columbian Hospital held an information picket, and on Sept. 30 housekeepers held one in the pouring rain outside Burnaby Hospital.
“It’s not a living wage, and that’s what we’re trying to get, is a living wage,” Karen Matychuk, a Royal Columbian Hospital worker said on Sept. 19 at the picket. “Even good benefits would help. All our kids need … their teeth looked after, and we can’t afford to do that.”
The province privatized hospital cleaning and food services 10 years ago and four multinational corporations – Acciona, Aramark, Compass-Marquise and Sodexo – employ nearly 4,400 workers in B.C.
Contracts for the workers, who had not received a raise since Sept. 2011, expired nearly a year ago, .
Union members will vote on the new agreement soon, and the results will be known by the end of the month, Pearson added.
