Prayers/thoughts

[Peach]

I'm asking for some prayers for my coworkers for this holiday time and for the difficult year that is to come.

Our jobs are being terminated by late 2012 due to the government's desire to privatize us.

Prayers or thoughts please for us.

[windrider86]

You got it. I'd say it means theres something better and better awaiting you, right around the corner!

[OsmosisStudios]

What do you do? I havent heard of anything in government being privatized recently, but I dont follow news out west.

[Ambrosia76]

Wasn't it you recently that was saying how much you hated the job you have and you were thinking of moving back home to go to school for something else, or something like that. Maybe this is God's way of giving you a kick in the butt to go that direction.

[Peach]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

What do you do? I havent heard of anything in government being privatized recently, but I dont follow news out west.

I'm a medical transcriptionist working currently for Providence Health Care, formerly we were working for the Fraser Health Authority. A few years ago, they started centralizing us into "hubs." Girls from the various hospitals here began to move into centralized areas - those of us in Burnaby, Ridge Meadows, Coquitlam, came here to New West to RCH. The girls in the South, such as in Surrey, Delta, moved to Surrey. Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission, moved to Abbotsford. Hospitals in Vancouver such as St. Paul's, etc moved to a Cambie street hub.

After that, came the introduction of speech recognition to our hospitals which would increase our productivity and decrease typing time. It's not perfect (by far - it's go to if it can't understand what a doctor is saying seems to be "sex" lol) but it improved production.

Then we merged with Providence Health and nothing really changed for us other than the name on our pay stubs.

Today, the bombshell was dropped on us that as soon as late 2012, we will be out of our jobs to bring in complete outsourcing. Ontario already has 90% of it's medical transcription outsourced with various companies such as Accentus, MedQuist, etc.

This way, the wages will be cut in half (Accentus pays about $1.15/dictated minute - that's how many minutes the doctor is talking) which averages about to $10/hour, more than 50% less than what we get paid now. No benefits have to be paid either, through an outsourced company.

In the end, it makes economic and financial sense. But they're displacing 131 workers.

And they give us this notice less than a month before Christmas. What a gift.

I already had my decision made - I already knew I was leaving in March, but if I didn't know, or I didn't have the opportunity I do have, I don't know what I'd do. As it stands, I don't know what many of these girls will do as many of them are single moms, older, or have mortgages and families that they can't uproot to go somewhere else.