MEDIA ADVISORY: Culture of hard-line, little empathy management behind dismal morale among North Bay hospital front-line staff; media conference Wednesday, November 2 to release survey of staff sentiment

Event Information

Begins: 2 November 2022 @ 11:00 AM
Location: North Bay, ON

NORTH BAY, ON –/COMMUNITYWIRE/– North Bay Regional Hospital (NBRH) staff are again going public about the dismal state of morale of those on the front-line at the hospital. It’s not the grueling pandemic, unprecedented staff shortages and pressures but also a culture of a lack of respect and empathy and a hard-line management style from hospital brass that’s driving low morale, say more than 250 NBRH front-line staff surveyed earlier this fall.

The Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU) the hospital division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) will hold a media conference on Wednesday November 2 at 11 a.m. to release the findings of the survey of registered practical nurses (RPNs), custodians, clerical, trades workers and others who are members of CUPE 139 working at NBRH.

Last April, OCHU-CUPE president Michael Hurley publicly raised serious concerns about the hospital’s conflictual and costly approach to staffing stability and labour relations. He called for more constructive approaches on the part of NBRH to work with CUPE to resolve a record number of grievances at the hospital.

“It saddens us to report that at a time when our hospitals are dealing with unparalleled staff shortages and exhausted staff, that the NBRH front-line staff who responded to the CUPE survey report tell us things are getting worse, not better. As  more of their coworkers leave their hospital jobs, become ill from pandemic stresses, COVID-19 and now the flu, those left are beyond overworked, and their efforts unappreciated by management,” says Hurley, who will be in North Bay on Wednesday to present the survey findings.

WHO:      Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, President Michael Hurley, CUPE 139

WHAT:    Media conference release of North Bay Regional Hospital front-line staff survey

WHERE:  128 McIntyre St. West unit 202, North Bay (CUPE 139 office)

WHEN:    Wednesday, November 2, 2022

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For more information, contact:

Stella Yeadon
CUPE Communications
416-559-9300
syeadon@cupe.ca