Couriers and mail clerks working for Lifelabs in Ontario, who handle samples and blood specimens, could walk off the job as early as Saturday as part of a labour dispute.
In a news release issued this week, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) said 150 mailroom clerks and couriers across the GTA and in Kitchener are poised to strike on the weekend, with picket lines slated to go up Monday if no deal is reached.
“LifeLabs is a billion-dollar, for-profit company that gets millions of our public health care dollars,” OPSEU President JP Hornick said in a statement.
“It can absolutely afford to treat workers fairly — yet even full-time workers are struggling to pay rent as some of the lowest paid employees in the company. How are you supposed to keep up with the cost of living when your rent hike is higher than your wage increase?”
In its own statement sent to CBC News, Lifelabs said the company and the union are currently negotiating a renewal of their collective bargaining agreement and said management is committed to finding a deal that works.
“In the event of a strike, LifeLabs will take all possible actions to minimize disruption to customers and healthcare providers,” the statement reads.
“We will implement a business continuity plan to ensure that we can continue to provide Ontarians with access to important health care services. Patient Services Centres will remain open, and laboratories will continue to function as usual.”
The union says mail clerks who are on the verge of striking handle all incoming and outgoing deliveries for the company, while couriers transport blood samples and other tests from hospitals, doctors’ offices and pharmacies to labs for testing.
Toronto courier Mahmood Alawneh, who is also president of OPSEU Local 5119, said in a statement that the company is eroding working conditions.
“The public relies on us every day as part of their care,” Alawneh said. “We hope that we can rely on the public in turn as we fight for the careers we deserve — good jobs, not gig work.”