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July 10, 2003
Fraser Health Authority begins to privatize security
Members are urged to monitor the changes and report any issues and concerns to your BCNU steward or regional chair
Intercon Security is beginning a staged takeover of hospital security in the Fraser Health Authority under the five-year contract announced in June.
At a meeting with BCNU regional chairs July 8, FHA officials revealed their timetable for the takeover and provided some information about the new security system.
- Mission Memorial Hospital- takeover by Intercon already occurred on July 7
- Chilliwack General, Fraser Canyon, Queens Park, Fellburn - August 1
- MSA Hospital and Fraser North sites ie. Burnaby, Royal Columbian, Eagle Ridge, Ridge Meadows - August 31
- Fraser South ie. Surrey Memorial, Langley Memorial, Peace Arch, Delta - September 12
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The FHA says that once Intercon has taken over site security, the company will deploy guards to sites in about the same numbers as were on staff before the guards were contracted out. But the union has not been given a detailed allocation of security staffing for each site.
Members needing security will be required to call a four digit number provided by Intercon, which will connect them to the Intercon call centre in downtown Vancouver. Dispatchers at the call centre then will deploy security personnel from elsewhere in the worksite as required.
Although members might prefer that the same roster of guards are assigned to each site on a regular basis, FHA says that Intercon is free to deploy any staff to any site as it chooses, including guards that are deployed normally in other industries, such as at shopping malls and office buildings.
The FHA assures BCNU that all guards deployed to FHA sites will be trained in non-violent crisis intervention. However, they will be trained separately, not alongside nurses and other members of Code White teams.
The FHA says the contract with Intercon establishes specific performance expectations. But the health authority says the contract will remain confidential because it is a private business relationship between FHA and Intercon. FHA Human Resources official Paul Mochrie said he would check into whether the written performance expectations can be made public.
BCNU expressed our concerns about the new security plan. We are urging FHA to set up orientation meetings for front line staff to hear directly about the plans. We’re also asking for a tour of the Intercon call centre.
We urge all members in the Fraser Health Authority to report any issues or concerns that may arise from the new security system to your BCNU steward or to one of your regional chairs.
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