Employees of Floralies long-term care home in Montreal protest closure, CIUSS mistreatment

Two weeks after the announcement of the closure of the Floralies long-term care homes, employees are voicing their frustration with the West Island health authority.

Dozens of unionized staff honked horns and waved flags outside the seniors’ residence in Lachine early Friday morning.

Staff are speaking out against what they call unfair treatment from the West Island CIUSSS.

“How can they displace us like that? No, I’m not supposed to go back to the street. I’m supposed to fall back on something else; I’m supposed to fall back on the CIUSSS. They are the government. They are supposed to place us on another job,” patient attendant Taiwo Ismail said.

Workers and the union claim to have been “kicked to the curb” and left in the dark regarding their future, since the closure of the two facilities was announced.

Both residences have been under provincial trusteeship since last fall amid allegations of mistreatment.

In April, the West Island health authority confirmed that all of the residents of both homes, nearly 200 seniors, are being relocated for safety reasons.

2:18 Almost 200 seniors to be moved out of 2 Montreal long-term care facilities

The health authority says both Floralies residences require important renovations to meet the needs of residents and CHSLD standards — something that can’t be done by the health authority since the buildings are privately owned.

Unifor union spokesperson Nathalie Lacroix said the situation is being handled “terribly” with the nearly 120 workers being unfairly treated.

She said the staff members have been under-compensated for nearly a year and a half because negotiations with the union over the collective agreement have stalled.

The health authority said in a statement that they “hear the concerns of the employees.”

They claim the union is in talks with the human resource depart concerning the issue.

“The Floralies staff have been informed of the positions available in the network. Our establishment is monitoring the current situation to ensure that care and services to residents are maintained and that they are not affected by this event,” a statement read.