Layoffs expected at Windsor Essex County Health Unit

WINDSOR -- Layoffs are looming at the Windsor Essex County Health Unit.

President of the Ontario Nurses Association Local 8 Barb Deter says eight positions have been deemed redundant.

But Deter adds the decision will impact up to nine different employees.

Mike Janisse, a spokesperson for the health unit, confirms there will be staffing changes to both union and non-unionized positions starting in 2020.

Janisse says the layoffs will be explained at the health unit's budget meeting on Monday.

The news follows a two-month strike by more than 80 public health nurses in Windsor-Essex that ended on May 10, 2019.

The new three-year agreement included a four per cent wage increase over the term of the deal, which expires in 2021.

The provincial government also plans to amalgamate the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit with the Chatham-Kent, Southwestern, Lambton and Middlesex-London health units.

The proposed new service area spans 14,500 square kilometres and will be responsible for meeting the needs of nearly 1.3-million residents.