Maintenance workers at Canberra Hospital who were told just days before Christmas that their workforce would be cut in half will take their fight against the decision to the Fair Work Commission, with the support of the CFMEU, the ETU and the Plumbers Union.
"It is a disgrace for the ACT Government and Canberra Health Services to give these workers the gift of news of job cuts in the week before Christmas", said Zachary Smith, CFMEU ACT Secretary.
"These maintenance workers have worked hard to keep the hospital running though the pandemic and their reward is to be told that up to half the workforce will be replaced by private contractors."
"The ACT Government has a commitment to insource roles and provide secure employment to workers but what we have here is clearly privatisation by stealth."
"Workers and their unions will argue in the Fair Work Commission that this is a clear breach of their Enterprise Bargaining Agreement and will seek to have the decision struck out."
"Canberra Health Services (CHS) had never raised the prospect of these job cuts with the workers or their unions prior to springing their Christmas surprise."
"This shocking and callous treatment by CHS continues a long pattern of neglect of the maintenance workers and failure to recognise the critical importance of their roles in keeping the hospital running."
"CHS has been under-resourcing the maintenance roles for years and has been refusing to fill positions as they became vacant."
"Despite this neglect, the Canberra Hospital maintenance workers have repeatedly stepped up during the pandemic to make sure the people of the ACT have access to the high-quality healthcare services they need."
