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The practice of contract flips has become widespread in B.C., with some facilities, such as Wexford Creek seniors care home in Nanaimo, laying off unionized employees and rehiring them for lower wages several times in recent years as contracts and facility ownership changed. It has also been an issue in Lower Mainland care homes, and in some health care facilities involving food services and maintenance staff which are employed by private companies contracted at publicly-funded facilities. In Coquitlam, more than 150 care home workers were threatened with layoffs at two care homes after unionizing earlier this year. Critics have said it not only makes for poor working conditions for staff, but also leads to uncertainty for frail seniors who rely on increasingly disgruntled staff for their care. Dix’s legislation will repeal two bills first introduced by Gordon Campbell more than a decade ago — bills 29 and 94, that opened what became loopholes for contract terminations but were also partly successfully challenged in court. Dix told the legislation it led to the layoff of more than 10,000 people and had long been opposed by NDP members. NDP MLAs gave him a standing ovation at the introduction of the bill. The new NDP legislation would not be in force immediately, while the government takes time to consult on a transition with the public and private sector. The outcome of those negotiations could range from requiring direct employment by health authorities and companies in certain cases, rather than contracting out, to simply mandating that unionized wage contracts transfer with any ownership or contract changes. The Hospital Employees’ Union, which has fought against contract flipping, celebrated the change by watching the Hansard video feed live at a party convention and cheering when Dix introduced the bill on Thursday. “There was jubilation on the part of health care workers to hear the introduction of this legislation repealing what has been fundamentally unfair and draconian,” said HEU secretary-business manager Jennifer Whiteside. The changes will ensure successorship of contracts and unionization if contractors and subcontractors change, she said, describing the “absolutely outrageous cycle of for-profit nursing home operators subcontracting work repetitively” and repeatedly laying off entire workforces. “We’ve seen this happen many times in long-term care,” said Whiteside. “Entire staff teams are laid off, fired and lose their jobs. Because they are not protected that stops employers from doing that, it means those care relationships with seniors are disrupted.” Some care facilities have gone so far as to flip contracts six times on workers, requiring them to take pay cuts and re-unionize each time, she said. It has also meant that workers who used to be employed directly by health authorities before 2002 have had their retirement benefits and pay slashed due to contracting out, said Whiteside. She said a “fragmented” system of differing contracts has been built up over 16 years in which a care aide can make $7 less than the same person doing the same job for a different employer just down the street. Dix said the government is pushing a massive recruitment drive for new health care workers and it can’t attract people to the job without eliminating some of the uncertainty over mass firings. In order to meet the NDP’s promised 3.36 direct care hours per day for residents, the government will have to hire 900 net new care aides and replace a significant portion of existing care aides who are already over the age of 55 and nearing retirement, said Dix. “We need health care workers,” said Dix. “And sending the message this work is precarious at a time when you absolutely need to recruit a new generation of health care workers is absolutely the wrong policy for today.” The B.C. Care Providers Association, which represents private care operators, said it recognizes the legislation could help address recruitment challenges. “We support the intent of the legislation,” said spokesperson Mike Klassen. “We support any efforts from government to try and make sure we address the crisis we’re facing in seniors care staffing. And we hope we have a clear understanding of the costs.” Klassen said the seniors care system may need more funding to address the consequences of the legislation.