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8 Independent & Free Press,Thursday, June 3, 2010 Red Cross promises no service disruption for dialysis patients Continued from pg. 1 day programs at Silver Creek Place in Georgetown and Allendale in Milton, and other facilities in Mississauga-Halton, according to information on the local Community Care Access Centre's website. "Obviously, our clients' wellbeing remains a priority for us, and in the event of a strike, we've been working very carefully on contingency planning and so we will be maintaining services to, sort of, high-need or highpriority clients, such as dialysis (patients)," Elliot said. "If anyone has any concerns at all, they can contact our office directly," she said. Halton Healthcare Services provides dialysis services at Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital and at a satellite dialysis unit located in the Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital Wellness House in Burlington, but the service is not available at Milton District Hospital or Georgetown Hospital. "Transportation is very important for our dialysis clients," said HHS spokesperson Trish Carlton, noting patients attend the clinics three times a week for approximately four hours each time. "We have contacted the Oakville Red Cross office and the North Halton (Milton) Red Cross office and they have assured us that there will be no disruption in transportation for our dialysis patients." Elliot said, at this time, the Red Cross doesn't know if it will lock out its drivers. And while CUPE has set up information pickets, a union spokesperson said Tuesday it will not strike "for the time being." "I mean, for the members, it's a hard position to be in because they need to stand up for themselves and try and get improvements to their working conditions but they also know how important this service is and they don't want to make people suffer," said Pat Daley, of CUPE communications. The two sides haven't been at the bargaining table since last Tuesday when a provincial mediator failed to get the two sides to agree on a contract. The outstanding issues are wages and wage scales, said Daley. She said the 47 drivers, who joined CUPE last year, are on 14 different pay scales. The drivers are also looking for an increase in their wages, she said. Daley said the majority of the drivers currently earn less than $13 per hour while drivers for Peel Region's TransHelp program, which do similar work, earn in the range of $20 per hour. "They're mostly immigrant workers, new Canadians, a mix of men and women," said Daley. "So they're people who are struggling to make new lives for themselves and their families here and are doing important jobs." Currently, the local Red Cross also uses volunteers to transport some its clients. Daley said those volunteers shouldn't be used as replacement workers in case of a strike or lockout. "In any kind of a strike situation, anyone who does the regular work of the people on strike is strikebreaking basically," she said. ANNUAL MEETING Halton Healthcare Services Corporation 2009/10 Annual Meeting & Awards Ceremony Thursday, June 17, 2010 Oakville Conference Centre, 2515 Wyecroft Road, Oakville Wine and Cheese Reception 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. Annual Meeting & Awards Ceremony 7:00 p.m. By-law changes will be recommended. Audited financial statements will be available at the meeting or by calling 905-815-5114. www.haltonhealthcare.com Georgetown Hospital · Milton District Hospital · Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital