[Rainbowgirl]

Please, over this difficult holiday season, pray for my coworkers.

We were told this morning that as early as late 2012, all 131 of us will be losing our jobs due to the employer wishing to privatize us. We currently work for the BC Government underneath one of the Health Care groups. They have decided (the Health Care group we work for) that saving taxpayer dollars (i.e. going somewhere cheaper) is better than honoring the current government's promise to help the middle class families and to keep union jobs.

Our union, and the BCGEU (BC Government Employees Union) has 90 days to offer a bid on our jobs/technologies, or an alternative. But given that our employer sprang this on us this morning with no lead up, I have a feeling that (as usual) our weak union will not offer us much help.

I have an out - I'm quitting in March to move home and go back to school, but there are some coworkers (most actually) who don't have any options but to try to get on with the outsourced company they will be bringing in. The company pays half as much as we make now and offers no benefits.

I have one coworker who is a single mom, she has no car b/c she cannot afford one, she barely makes ends meet now and is often left with literally nothing in her bank account at the end of the month. I am so worried about her.

So please, as much as Christmas is a wonderful time of year, it's also the time of year where the most suicides are completed and given this awful news, I am worried about those I work close with, please pray or send good thoughts to us.

I am so mad, I can't really be sad right now. I'm mad at our union for not fighting for us (yet again) and mad that this would happen so close to Christmas. And my boss wondered why I told her I didn't LOVE my job. The amount of B.S. from the top management is enough to make you puke.

*sigh*

[Gogirl008]

I'm so sorry to hear your news. Thank goodness you already have plans lined up. I hope there is enough time for your coworkers to find something else before the changes happen. At least there is a chance for them to stay on even though the new company won't pay as well.

[ade903]

I'm sorry to hear that. Perhaps this isn't what you want to hear, but look at it as an opportunity. At least you have a decent amount of time. My mom recently found out that they won't have a job starting January 1st. Oh what a holiday scramble that will be. Good luck. And remember, everything happens for a reason.

[dragonwoman64]

that's awful, I'm so sorry to hear it. the Christmas before last Christmas I lost my job 2 weeks before the holiday. It was extremely stressful and difficult. I wish all of you the best. there is always hope, as I made it through, have a new job.

I recommend reaching out to everyone and anyone for support and leads. the least likely person might know of something.

sending prayers and good thoughts.

[djs06]

I'm so sorry. So many people are going through something similar and I stand in solidarity with all of you.

[Rainbowgirl]

We met with the union representative (who wasn't even at the meeting on Thursday last week; thanks to the employer not bothering to invite them until 4:30 pm the night prior and sending the e-mail to the representative at another hospital who was on vacation) and she said there's nothing they can do to stop the outsourcing or save our jobs; that the union has very little faith in its ability to help us (lovely).

Also, we get very little in way of severance; basically 2 weeks notice plus those 2 weeks of pay, 40% pay out of any sick time we have and pay out of any vacation we have earned for the year.

We will not be retrained because when we switched employers earlier this year (not a move we really wanted to make but one that was done for us), the new employer doesn't have a retraining plan. The old one does, but we can't "go back." We can only bump into positions we're qualified for - which, as transcriptionists, means pretty much none of them unless they don't require an additional course (program clerk, unit clerk, etc). If we bump and we have less than 7 years service to begin with, we lose that seniority and have to start all the way at the bottom again (I think that's how it goes; I'm a bit confused).

Basically, the union took it where the sun don't shine and asked for some more.

Worst of all this: it's highly likely that the layoffs will be happening soon after February 29th because the union can't/won't put forward a proposal to save our jobs. This is also province-wide, apparently. Girls in Victoria and east in Kelowna are being laid off as well.

*sigh*