Jobs lost with laundry decision

Forty-three staff at the Sunrise Health Region laundry located in Yorkton will find their current jobs disappear with the announcement last week the province is opting for a single, privately-operated laundry.

Provincially 220 full time equivalent positions will be lost, said Andrew Will, CEO of 3sHealth, although he said efforts will be in consort with the health regions to find those losing their jobs different positions with the region.

In Yorkton, 43 work in the laundry, representing 21 full time equivalents.

Pearl Blommaert, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees local representing the laundry staff said it's not about full-time equivalent, adding you have to translate that into people.

"Forty people (locally) are involved and affected by this," she said, adding the staff "work here, shop here, live here."

As for the possibility of alternate jobs in the region, Blommaert said working in the laundry "was a career choice" for many staff, adding it might be a choice made for a number of reasons, so even a job move will have impact."

Blommaert said local laundry staff had held onto "a little thread of hope" that the government would upgrade the local laundry, but saw that die with the announcement.

And now "there's a lot of uncertainty, a lot of concern with the future," said Blommaert. "There's a lot of discontent with the decision the government made."

Blommaert said the decision was not a surprise in her mind.

"I'm not so sure it surprised me," she said, adding "I did hope it would remain public and not private." That said she said the current Saskatchewan Party government does lean toward private business. "It's something they explore more."

At present laundry is done on a regional basis, with six laundries in the province, explained Will. Most of those are in need of major infrastructure upgrades, he added.

"The Saskatoon plant closed in November 2012," said Will, citing "failing infrastructure and safety concerns.

"And the Yorkton and Regina plants are well beyond their useful life."

Moose Jaw is also close to being closed, said Will.

With a recognition of a major cash injection to upgrade the six laundries, Will said the province "started working with the health regions" to look at the best option to deal with those infrastructure needs moving forward.

"We started work to assess all the different options," said Will, including upgrading the current six facilities.

One large facility to be located in Regina was finally the choice, as a way "to leverage economies of scale," said Will, adding there will also be distribution centres established in Saskatoon and Prince Albert.

The facility will be a privately owned one, with the 10-year contract awarded to K-Bro Linen.

"It addresses all of our failing infrastructure," said Will, adding it is estimated the province will realize $98 million in savings by the choice they made. "That's a pretty substantial saving."

Blommaert said the savings are something she is not sure about.

"I know what they're saying about it being cost effective," she said, adding while "I don't have access to their numbers or their business plan, it's a private business so they're there to make a profit." She added is, as an example fuel costs rise, health regions will see the cost passed on to them.

The new centralized laundry service will come on stream in about two years, the time needed to build the facility, said Will.