For Immediate Release

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) solidly backs health care workers in their fight against the B.C. government's unleashing of Bill 37 yesterday, legislation that forces health care workers back to work.

Even more astonishing, Bill 37 creates longer workdays for less pay and may force the province's health care workers to retroactively pay back their salary to April 1, 2004.

"The B.C. government should strongly reconsider this latest blow to health care workers," says CUPW National President Deborah Bourque.

According to the Canadian Union of Public Employees National President Paul Moist, the Campbell government is ending these jobs that pay a living wage of up to $20 an hour for these workers, 80 per cent of whom are women. They then contract out these same jobs at $9 an hour to foreign corporations who pocket the profit.

"The decent wages these jobs provide were won through women's fight for pay equity and make it possible for women to support their families," says Bourque. "Does the Campbell government have a problem with women making as much as men?"

Government cutbacks to health care have most Canadian hospitals operating in crisis management mode. The end result for patients means dangerously long waits for emergency medical attention, surgeries in increasingly short-staffed hospitals, and lower paid workers in contract jobs.

"This is a clear example of government creating a crisis to open the door to privatization," says Bourque. "We've seen it before and we won't sit around and watch it happen again."

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers represents 54,000 urban and rural postal workers.

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