Request for Oak Bay Lodge proposal issued despite mounting opposition

The Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) is proceeding with its intention to privatize Oak Bay Lodge despite mounting community opposition. On Wednesday, BCGEU members joined hundreds of seniors, advocates and concerned citizens on the steps of the B.C. Legislature to protest attacks on public health care, including the sell-off of Oak Bay Lodge. The BCGEU has strongly criticized VIHA for opting to privatize Oak Bay Lodge, saying the need for upgrades and capital investment for the facility need not be tied to a sell-off of a valuable public asset.

Despite efforts by the BCGEU, South Island Health Coalition and others to stop this privatization, VIHA this week posted a Request For Proposals (RFP) seeking a purchaser that will build and operate a new replacement facility for Oak Bay Lodge. This follows the October 13 VIHA announcement of the planned sell-off of Oak Bay Lodge as part of a means to meet a $45 million budget shortfall downloaded from the Provincial Government. The RFP will close on January 13, 2010 and is posted on BC Bid at www.bcbid.gov.bc.ca.

However the RFP does provide protections for BCGEU members at the Lodge. One of the requirements of the RFP to potential bidders is "an appropriate transition plan for residents and staff at the affected sites. Staff transition plans must comply with the Labour Code of British Columbia."

The Labour Relations Code requires that when an employer disposes of a business or a part of it, the employees do not lose rights. All of those rights will operate in their relationship with the new employer (generally referred to as the "successor employer"). The union certification transfers with "the business". Therefore, the collective agreement in force at the time of the disposition binds the new employer to the same extent as if the new employer had signed it.

In addition, BCGEU members employed at Oak Bay Lodge are covered as an Appendix 1 Agency of the 14th Master and Component Agreements between the Province of B.C. and the BCGEU. These collective agreements have extensive protections for members related to lay-off and recall, employment security and privatization. In particular, Memorandum of Understanding #8 requires that Oak Bay Lodge will remain listed in Appendix 1 of the collective agreement. In addition, there is a requirement of a minimum of 60 days notice be provided prior to any change so that a joint employer/union committee be established to facilitate the orderly transfer of employees.

It should also be noted that the RFP documents require that a proponent who is bidding must propose and provide an operator suitable to VIHA or "use the current operator for a period of up to 36 months or until such later time as the replacement Facility is available."

At this point it is fair to say that there are still more questions about the future of Oak Bay Lodge than there are answers. It is not clear who if anyone may bid on this "opportunity." The BCGEU will work hard to get answers from the employer and the provincial government for members. We have asked the employer to provide us with a briefing on the full RFP.

Component 2 Chairperson Susanne Francoeur and your stewards will continue to work hard to get answers to your questions and communicate information as soon as we have it.