[BC_Labour_E-NEWS] March 11

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News from the BC Federation of Labour
March 11, 2004
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March 10, 2004

Latest Liberal Revelation Shows Tainted BC Rail Privatization Deal must be
Cancelled

Vancouver - B.C. Federation of Labour President Jim Sinclair today called on
the BC Liberals to cancel the whole BC rail deal, saying the latest
revelation from Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon is just more evidence
that the deal to privatize the company is tainted.

Falcon admitted that the Liberals have been forced to cancel the sale of the
BC Rail Port Subdivision due to an ongoing criminal investigation linked to
police raids on the Legislative offices of the Transportation and Finance
Minister's Office. 

"Since the raid on the Finance Minister's office and the firing of Mr. Basi,
every decision made by the Liberal government has shown the government knows
more about this criminal investigation than they've revealed to the public,"
said Sinclair.  "Now we learn Falcon had been advised by a senior government
official on March 2 that there were problems with this deal, publicly denied
it, and then waited over a week to tell the public.  What other information
is the government hiding?" asked Sinclair.

After earlier attempts to deny any wrongdoing with the bidding process for
the sale of BC Rail, Falcon admitted four days ago that CN Rail received
confidential information.  "The government has the evidence to suggest the
port subdivision deal is tainted," said Sinclair. "The same situation
applies to the larger deal, the whole privatization scheme is tainted." 
Sinclair stressed that the provincial government faces the same problems
with sale of BC Rail to CN Rail.  "There's an ongoing criminal investigation
of government officials and lobbyists with close ties to the BC Liberals
here," said Sinclair. "Instead of coming clean with the information they
have, they're hiding crucial information from the public. The only realistic
and responsible decision is to cancel the whole deal."

"The government has an opportunity to show some semblance of integrity and
allow the voters of BC to determine the future of BC Rail.  So far, they've
provided no information to demonstrate the sale of BC Rail is not implicated
in this criminal investigation," concluded Sinclair.


For more information contact: Jessie Uppal office: 604-430-1421 or cell
604-220-0739.

opeiu 15 

++++

March 10, 2004

Decent jobs lost, quality health care at risk as health authority takes a 
gamble on French corporation

Go to < http://www.heu/2004/nr-03-10-04-sodexho.pdf > for the Printer 
Friendly Version.
 
A lucrative contract for patient food services in Lower Mainland and 
Sunshine Coast hospitals tying taxpayers to a $300 million payout over 
ten years has been awarded to a foreign corporation and will result in 
1,300 staff - most of them women - losing their jobs. 

The Hospital Employees' Union says the move is a risky gamble that will 
deprive communities from Richmond to Gibsons of skilled hospital workers 
who will be replaced by contract workers earning less than ten dollars an 
hour with few benefits. 

And while most affected workers have already received lay off notices, 
HEU secretary-business manager Chris Allnutt says that the timing of 
today's announcement is designed to intimidate union members who are in 
the midst of province-wide strike votes. 

"This move is typical of B.C.'s health employers who've shown total 
disregard for the collective bargaining process and utter contempt for 
the hardworking women and men on health care's front lines," says 
Allnutt. "But to be quite frank, this announcement is just more proof to 
our members and the public that health employers will put everything at 
risk for the sake of privatization." 

Health employers have issued more than 2,500 pink slips to health workers 
since bargaining began at the beginning of the year on top of 6,000 
workers who've already lost their jobs since the provincial government 
shredded health care collective agreements in January, 2002. 

Sodexho - the French corporation awarded the contract by Vancouver 
Coastal Health Authority and Providence Health Care - has published a 
union avoidance manual and was dumped by a Scottish hospital in 2002 
where workers had raised concerns about staffing levels falling by more 
than half after cleaning services were privatized. 
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