Handling biological waste is an important job. Not only does biowaste pose hazards for the people who work with it, improper disposal can result in health hazards for the whole community.

Our members in maintenance and housekeeping are trained to handle biological waste and minimize the possibility of the spread of infection.

But privatization is all the rage now among HHS management, so when we were short-staffed at the Waste Dock at one of Hamilton's large hospitals, management decided to contract the job out.

They got a worker from Sodexho, a Burlington company which does contract work for various hospitals.

The worker's job was to work on the "bulkveyor," a large piece of equipment which shuttles biological waste into different categories for disposal. The job involved working with others, who cannot be seen by the operator yet are affected by the operator's work.

When the employees in the area discovered that the Sodexho worker had no training in either operating the bulkveyor or in handling biological waste, they asked their Local 7800 steward to make a complaint.

The Local contacted our CUPE National Staff Representative, who filed a formal complaint with the Department of Labour.

Not only did the Department of Labour uphold the complaint, it ordered Sodexho to ensure its workers were properly trained. The Sodexho employee was removed from the Waste Dock.

But the story does not end there. The Local has recently discovered new evidence of HHS hiring unqualified, untrained people to handle biological waste.