After the bubble bath, the washing machine. The Syndicat des travailleurs et des travailleuses du CISSS de la Montérégie-Est – CSN, which represents employees of the Pierre-Boucher Hospital laundry, has been extra inventive in getting its message across. A washing machine and a large pile of clothes and stuffed animals were delivered to the office of the Minister responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, on the night of August 13 to 14.
The Union criticizes the ministry for not wanting to grant the necessary budget for the operation of the hospital laundry. It also deplores the suggestion that the CISSS “dip into the budget envelope dedicated to hospital renovations,” according to one of the leaflets left on the washing machine in the parking lot of the office on Roland-Therrien Blvd.
The device is also filled with CSN stickers proclaiming “No private health, for a truly public network.”
“The employer then decided not to touch its renovation budget and therefore wants to close the laundry room without even notifying the Ministry, starting in September,” writes the paper titled “Laundry room in danger. Pierre-Boucher Hospital.”
The call for tenders for the privatization was reportedly sent out on July 18.
On June 18, employees demonstrated in front of the Pierre-Boucher hospital, using foam cannons in particular, to denounce the upcoming closure of the laundry and the loss of around fifteen jobs.
For its part, the CISSS-ME had said it had to put an end to the laundry’s washing and drying activities due to recurring problems with the equipment’s operation and the high cost of repair.
These activities will be divided between an external supplier and the laundries of the Saint-Hyacinthe and Sorel hospitals.
He also specified that the distribution part of the laundry room would be maintained.
