North Sask Laundry staff looks for answers at flash picket

Over 10 months after the province inked a contract that will cut over 75 jobs at Prince Albert’s North Sask Laundry, staff is frustrated by its employer’s failure to give answers.

Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 3736 and the provincial CUPE organized an “information picket” over staff’s lunch break on Wednesday that lasted less than half an hour.

Their issues are twofold.

Firstly, the loss of their local jobs through privatization of all health care laundry services to a centralized private facility owned by Calgary company K-Bro Linen Systems. North Sask Laundry does laundry for four central and northern health regions.

“We were here today to inform the citizens of Prince Albert that we are losing our jobs due to privatization under the Brad Wall government,” said CUPE Local 3736 president Anita Labossiere.

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Second, the staff wants answers from North Sask Laundry, their employer, on when their jobs will be phased out and supports once that happens.

According to Labossiere, they have been told “not to worry until June of next year but they can’t guarantee anything. So our staff lives on edge every single day, not knowing when we’re gonna get our notice.”

“We are demanding…. a fair transition, a fair severance, and some retraining dollars so we can still contribute to our community and support our families.”

Construction work is underway on the K-Bro facility in Regina, with a completion date expected by fall of 2015.

Mark Anderson,vice president of business development with 3sHealth, said there are clear lines on their responsibilities, and 3sHealth is not involved in North Sask Laundry’s discussions with its employees.

“We do keep North Sask Laundry up to date on what’s happening with bringing up the new service through K-Bro,” Anderson stated.

However, he did have a prediction on when North Sask Laundry will no longer need its staff.

“In the fall of 2015 is when we are expecting that the North Sask Laundry will cease operations and… the linen will start to be processed out of Regina” with distribution centres in Prince Albert and Saskatoon.

North Sask Laundry’s general manager, chief financial officer, and production supervisor did not answer their phones or respond to messages on Wednesday. Reception declined to comment.

Honks of approval responded to signs that read: “we want fair severance” and “laundry washers hung out to dry.”

Mayor Greg Dionne and city councillor Lee Atkinson joined the 20 or so staff that marched outside North Sask Laundry’s facility near the Victoria Hospital.

“At the end of the day, we’re losing these jobs and as the mayor of Prince Albert I don’t appreciate that,” Dionne said.

He echoed Labossiere’s demand for help staff after they’re laid off, saying the best outcome is for some to find jobs in the health care system or get financing for new jobs or training.

Labossiere said the workplace environment has become stressful with the strain between workers and their employer.

claskowski@panow.com

On Twitter: @chelsealaskowsk

EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this story attributed a quote form Mark Anderson,vice president of business development with 3sHealth, to its CEO Andrew Will. paNOW apologizes for this error.