The impact on organized labour of the Health and Social Services Delivery Improvement Act : a case study.
Date
2008-10-29T18:28:15Z
Authors
Gillespie, Debra E.
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Abstract
This case study is specifically concerned with the implementation and impact of
the Health and Social Services Delivery Improvement Act (Bill 29-2002) upon unions and
the workers who deliver health care services in one health authority in British Columbia.
The Act eliminated or reduced a number of union roles, and workers’ rights and benefits
previously achieved through decades of collective bargaining.
Qualitative, face-to-face interviews with four health care union leaders or
designates combined with documentary analysis and literature reviewed were the
methods employed to collect data.
This study documents four major findings: 1. The legislation impacted all
workers facing programme and facility closures but in particular support workers, mainly
women, who were contracted out who also lost pay equity gains established through
collective bargaining; 2. Amidst the government ideology and dogma of the public
policy shift with contracting out there were initial reports of organizational impacts in
health facilities with reduced morale, increased workload, a division between workers
and reduced quality of service to patients and residents; 3. Unions experienced
legislative interference in their role and described this as “union busting” in neo-liberal
times of health care restructuring; 4. Unions employed several democratic mechanisms to
resist and forged alliances to strengthen their resistance.
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Keywords
Labor unions, legislation