City hospital workers lose their jobs in food switch

By Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 24, 204


The Fraser Health Authority has signed a contract that will allow Starbucks and Tim Hortons food to be served to employees and visitors inside its 11 area hospitals.

The five-year deal, signed with Morrison Healthcare, a division of Compass Group Canada, will bring the authority an estimated $1 million in revenues, compared to the current $1.2 million cost of providing the service, said Bob Smith, FHA chief of shared services.

The contract only affects the retail food service in the hospitals, and does not replace the in-house patient food services.

The deal will result in layoffs to 66 staff people at the hospitals, including 11 at Burnaby and 17 at Royal Columbian. While the exact timeline has not been determined, Langley Memorial Hospital will be the first to undergo the change no earlier than March 15, and full implementation is expected by June.

"We're disappointed," said Patty Gibson, spokesperson for the Hospital Employees' Union. "These are 66 good jobs that are going to be lost to local communities, and it represents the further commercialization of the health- care system."

Don Bower, spokesperson for the health region, said the new service will result in a sort of 'food court' being brought into the larger hospitals, allowing visitors and staff to buy brand name products alongside Compass' in-house brands.

Sharon McDonald, regional vice-president of Morrison, said the company is best known for its operation of business dining and campus dining facilities in the Lower Mainland, and its current clients include Telus, B.C. Hydro and Simon Fraser University.

The company expects to spend $3 million in upgrades to the retail food space in the hospital.