WATCH: IHA contemplates cutting in-house laundry; 175 jobs on the line

KELOWNA – Hospital laundry service in the southern interior costs the Interior Health Authority (IHA) $10 million every year and will cost an additional $10.5 million in infrastructure and machine upgrades over the next decade. It’s a bill the IHA is looking to decrease, potentially by privatization.

“We have limited capital dollars available and our equipment and infrastructure is aging,” says Interior Health facilities manager Lori Holloway, “so we really want to ensure our capital dollars go to our critical patient care equipment.”

The decision to contract laundry service out is yet to be made, but Interior Health has given the Hospital Employees Union the mandatory 90 days notice it’s looking into the option. If IHA decides to privatize the service, that means 175 jobs are on the chopping block, with one third of those jobs full-time work in Kelowna, Penticton and Vernon.

“It was a surprise,” says Denis Nogue with the Hospital Employees Union. “People are upset. This is six weeks before Christmas. These are family supporting jobs. This has huge impacts.”

This isn’t the first time IHA has considered privatizing laundry services. In 2002 the health authority made the same proposal, but because of overwhelming backlash from both the union and local municipalities the deal didn’t go through.

During the next 90 days IHA is looking at bids from contractors for the service, but union members will also have a chance to fight for their jobs by proposing alternative ideas to Interior Health.

If IHA does go ahead with contracting, privatized laundry service won’t be in full swing until April of 2016.

Interior Health and Northern Health are the only two health authorities in the province who still do laundry services in-house.