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The Compass Group, often described as the world's largest contract food services company, locked out over 200 workers at seven B.C. long term care homes on Sept. 29.

just over $12 an hour

without a contract since December 2010

Steelworkers local 2009

At Arbutus Care, as around the world, Compass provides contracted food services to the facility's owners, in this case the Revera company.

come in early and work through our breaks to get our work done

We are all working very hard and we deserve more than a raise of five cents an hour.

casual status

ineligible for the benefits

Compass is paying less than other contractors in the sector

Compass was listed in 2010 as one of the Fortune 500 top global companies, ranked as number 424 in that elite listing. It is listed as number nine in an online article about the globe's largest employers last year, ranking just behind the Agricultural Bank of China and just ahead of IBM.

still generating profit of over a billion English pounds

The Canadian division of Compass, which in 2010 employed over 23,000 "associates," generated $1.4 billion in revenue.

VIHA says the new contract with Crothall raises cleaning standards, increases staffing levels, creates a specialist outbreak cleaning team, enhances monitoring processes and introduces more patient and staff satisfaction surveys.

Mike Old, spokesman for the Hospital Employees' Union, said the union supports the decision of the health authority to retain the experienced workers who currently clean the facilities."Our concerns about crushing workloads for cleaning staff have been recognized through a commitment to higher staffing levels in this contract," Old said.

Improper cleaning methods and insufficient cleaner strength had a significant effect in an 11-month C-Difficile outbreak at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital that infected 94 people and killed five which started in 2008.

Compass employees lacked proper training to use toxic chemicals that caused hair loss, nose inflammation, respiratory problems and skin irritation, according to two failed WorkSafe B.C. inspections issued in 2008 and 2009.

Workers used ineffective cleaners. Staff over-diluted bleach cleaner and later needed to switch to a soil-lifting detergent that would remove the virus from surfaces.

If the housekeeping fails on any of the new measures during monitoring, financial penalties will be applied.

In April last year, VIHA said it was getting rid of Compass and signing a new contract with Marquise to provide housekeeping and food services at residential care facilities on the south Island - Glengarry, Mount Tolmie, Aberdeen, Gorge Road and Priory Hospital - as well as Queen Alexandra Centre for Children's Health and Saanich Peninsula Hospital. But before the ink on the contract was dry, Marquise was bought by Compass.

Compass has three of its divisions working in VIHA's contracted sites: Crothall Services, providing housekeeping services; Morrison, providing food services; and Marquise Group, providing both food and housekeeping services in residential care facilities.

It can start with fatigue, an exhaustion so crippling the sufferer has trouble functioning and which no amount of sleep will cure. That's how Wendy Austin describes compassion fatigue, an affliction that she says affects health care professionals across the country. Austin, a registered nurse and professor emerita at the University of Alberta, has studied the problem and her research has been published in the book Lying Down in the Ever-Falling Snow: Canadian Health Professionals' Experience of Compassion Fatigue. 

She says she had greater success at Ryerson University, where she was hired to overhaul the food service from 2013 to 2015. “Ryerson was tremendous. We created a beautiful model and the students responded to it,” she says.Under her direction, staff stopped reheating soup from a bag and learned to cook from scratch with raw ingredients. “Soup easily became one of the most popular things on the campus,” she says. “Because it was good and made with thoughtfulness and not that much more work.”The big take-away for Maharaj was learning to negotiate with the companies that provide the food. “Working with a third-party operator is the undeniable piece you have to address when you’re talking about institutional food,” she says. “And these operators are the people we need to start talking to when we want change.”

“The vegetables are almost non-existent. They’ll throw a couple on the plate. You’ll have a spoonful of some nasty peas. And they’re not even green no more. They’re grey,” says Tom, who also says powdered mashed potatoes are served multiple times a week (“Both dehydrated and fresh potatoes are used in both the cook-chill and institutional kitchens,” Ross says.)Tom avoided eating chicken entirely when he was in jail. Another woman I spoke with, who spent a year at Vanier from 2010 to 2011, says the poultry was routinely served undercooked and pink. She says she relied on food purchased at the canteen, mostly ramen noodles. When dinner was “fish slop” – a dish she describes as “garbage with fish parts in it” – inmates would run to their stashes, softening the noodles with hot water from the sink over the toilet.

In 2012, Paulette Padanyi, a now-retired faculty member of the University of Guelph, co-wrote a research paper called Food Provision in Ontario Hospitals and Long Term Care Facilities. Of the 55 hospitals studied, 19 hospital administrators agreed to discuss their food budgets. All of them outsourced the food production. Most told Padanyi that they took their cue from long-term-care facilities, which have a prescribed Ministry of Health and Long Term Care rate of $8.03 per day per patient to spend on food.In 2012, the average amount spent per patient in the hospitals Padanyi looked at was $7.91 a day. “They say to the contractors, ‘You’ve got x number of dollars, eight bucks a day per patient or whatever,’ effectively downloading the responsibility of meeting that budget,” she says.Often, these contracts are not just for patient meals, but the staffing and operation of food franchises within the hospital, plus housekeeping and custodial. The main conclusion of Padyani’s report was that food service is considered unimportant relative to the entire hospital.

Tom, a former prisoner introduced to me through the John Howard Society (which asked that I not use his last name), has served time at various correctional facilities around Ontario and suffers from diabetes and Crohn’s disease. He challenges Ross’s statement. “They don’t follow diets,” says Tom, who is in his 30s, was first locked up at the age of 12 and has spent more than 10 years behind bars. “Any jail food, you’re going to be on the toilet six times a day because what they’re giving you is running though you.”

Compass employs half a million people around the world (including 30,000 in Canada), and supplies food to schools, offices, stadiums, museums, mining camps and offshore drilling platforms, as well as hospitals and correctional centres. Of the company’s many customers, patients and inmates have two things in common: First, they are unable to go buy themselves something more healthy, or at least more tasty; and second, we, the taxpayer, are responsible for feeding them.Last November, Compass took over food services at the Regina Correctional Centre, a move that saved the Saskatchewan government $2.4-million a year. Lacking a Yelp page, inmates went on a hunger strike in January to protest against the quality of the food. “If you don’t like the prison food, don’t go to prison,” Premier Brad Wall responded. In March, inmates refused food again, in part because Compass had raised prices at the canteen.Ontario spends $14.54 a day per inmate to feed about 8,000 prisoners in 26 correctional facilities, for a total of $41.3-million a year, including labour and transportation. The food cost is $9.17 for three meals. Perhaps inmates should not, per our punitive view of criminal justice, be dining on lamb racks and truffles. But it’s hard to imagine eating healthy on $9.17 a day.

May 10, 2016

For my entire life, my doctors, my parents and my government have sent me one clear message about food: Nutrition is a key component of physical and mental health. So I had assumed (and hoped) that if MDs or MPPs were choosing menus for those in their care, the result would be a 3-D version of the Canada’s Food Guide chart I coloured in elementary school.

A new poll by Nanos Research for the Ontario Medical Association found two-thirds of Ontarians say that a provincial party with a strong platform on health care would have an impact on their likely vote for a party. When asked if a provincial party had strong platform on health care would you be more likely, less likely, or would it have no impact on your likelihood to vote for that party, 68 per cent said more likely.

According to CBC's Vote Compass, more than half of respondents want the government to spend money on health care, even if it means raising taxes.

However, it seems Vote Compass respondents are split on whether Ontario residents should have the choice to pay for health care. Forty-four per cent of respondents agree that people should have the choice to receive private or public health care. Forty-two per cent disagree. Thirteen per cent of respondents said they were “neutral” on the matter.

St. Michael’s Hospital serves 97 different diet types, and has 47 different diets to respond to allergy restrictions

Fletcher notes that efforts to add fresh, local foods to the hospital menu meant that the hospital had to engage in conversations and partnerships with suppliers, including farmers and help them learn how to participate in hospital food procurement processes

Many hospitals have adopted an approach, known as ‘rethermalization’

The “kitchenless” hospital has been described as an innovation that can save hospitals about 20% of food services costs.

Companies such as Compass Group and Aramark specialize in food preparation for hospitals at large, off-site industrial kitchens.

the Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre located in Northwestern Ontario and serving the needs of primarily First Nations communities was required to have specific legislative authority in order to serve traditional foods, such as game meats and fish, which are non-inspected foods

The Scarborough Hospital is also aiming to improve the cultural appropriateness of food services, through their pilot project.

The Tories issued a request for proposals to take over the management of cleaning, hospital porters and food services. Opposition leader Bruce Fitch said Friday the Tories did not proceed any further than signing a request for proposals for the privatization idea. "We are looking for the details like everyone else as to how they will go forward with this," Fitch said. Until a deal is final, Boudreau will not reveal the name of the company the government is negotiating with, but CUPE, which represents cleaning and food staff, said it was told that food and facilities management giants Sodexo, Aramark and Compass Group are involved in the bidding process.

CUPE spokeswoman Norma Robinson said the union was told the government is seeking a 10-year contract and is negotiating with Sodexo to reach a deal in the next three to six months. If unsuccessful, it will then approach Aramark and Compass, according to Robinson. Boudreau was asked about an issue involving one of the companies when its contract was cancelled a couple of years ago at the Niagara Health System in Ontario. The contract with Aramark ended following a deadly C. difficile outbreak.

"I can't comment on a particular case," Boudreau said when asked about Niagara. "What we see is that based on the various models they (the private companies) bring forward, they demonstrate there are savings that can be found. There are issues now with cleanliness in our hospitals, and I hope this would address that." Aramark and Compass Group did not provide comment on Friday. Sodexo confirmed on Thursday that it did bid on the New Brunswick food and cleaning services contract, although said it hasn't been in talks with government recently.

Boudreau has said the move will save the province millions of dollars through efficiencies brought in by a private company. However, the union's document paints a poor picture of privatization of services in health-care facilities in other jurisdictions. "We believe it is important for New Brunswickers to understand the impact of such a move, especially when it comes to the cleanliness of a building which the public relies on everyday," Robinson said. Last year, the Horizon Health Network started a regular audit of the cleanliness of hospitals being serviced by unionized public sector workers. Auditor General Kim MacPherson reported that health-care workers weren't cleaning their hands as required and that the standards to do so weren't even the same within the two regional health authorities.

Robinson said Friday that policies have been established and changes made that are addressing cleanliness concerns. "And they have improved on their targets of cleaning in the hospital sector," she said. The union claims its research into the three companies they believe are being considered to take over those services - Sodexo, Aramark and Compass - shows a poor track record. The union said it's also concerned about the quality of food declining. The union wants to keep the management of hospital environmental services in-house. It also wants fair wages and benefits for cleaning and food services staff to ensure against high turnover and gaps in training. The union also stated lay-offs and staff reductions would be a poor way to balance the budget.

"The cost associated with treating hospital-acquired infections, managing public relations fiascoes and defending lawsuits would defeat any possible savings while destroying the public trust." The Province of New Brunswick expects to have completed talks with a private contractor for the management of health-care cleaning and food services before the end of the year.

Bruce McFarlane, Health Minister Victor Boudreau's director of communications, said Friday that the province is "still in current discussions with the preferred proponent and we hope to have completed the process sometime this fall." McFarlane sent The Daily Gleaner an email statement Friday afternoon after the New Brunswick Council of Hospital Unions CUPE local 1252 released a 20-page document critical of the government's plan to privatize housekeeping, food services and porter services at hospitals. "We want to clarify that we are only outsourcing the management of the services," said McFarlane, who added that the ministry had not yet received the document.

"CUPE staff will remain in their union and will continue to be employees of the Province of New Brunswick." Norma Robinson, president of CUPE Local 1252, said she is "very concerned that the Liberal government is negotiating with a private firm to take over the management of food and cleaning services in the province's hospitals." Robinson said she's worried the move could lead to further privatization. In an interview with Brunswick News in April, Boudreau said the government wants to give the private sector a greater role in the province's health-care system.

Boudreau has said the move will save the province millions of dollars through efficiencies brought in by a private company. However, the union's document paints a poor picture of privatization of services in health-care facilities in other jurisdictions. "We believe it is important for New Brunswickers to understand the impact of such a move, especially when it comes to the cleanliness of a building which the public relies on everyday," Robinson said. Last year, the Horizon Health Network started a regular audit of the cleanliness of hospitals being serviced by unionized public sector workers. Auditor General Kim MacPherson reported that health-care workers weren't cleaning their hands as required and that the standards to do so weren't even the same within the two regional health authorities.

Robinson said Friday that policies have been established and changes made that are addressing cleanliness concerns. "And they have improved on their targets of cleaning in the hospital sector," she said. The union claims its research into the three companies they believe are being considered to take over those services - Sodexo, Aramark and Compass - shows a poor track record. The union said it's also concerned about the quality of food declining. The union wants to keep the management of hospital environmental services in-house. Calls made to Sodexo, Aramark and Compass were not returned by press time.

But Kelly Campbell, HHS vice-president of corporate services and chief planning officer, said the move will improve quality and reduce waste. Patients have been using a paper menu system to choose their meals a day in advance, which often leads to wasted food if the patient changes their mind. "Our menu is not nimble right now in terms of catering to patients closer to meal time ... the waste can be as high as 45 per cent at a meal," she said. Murphy expressed concerns about plastic packaging, but Campbell said they would be working with Compass to create a system similar to the one in place now with ceramic plates and silverware.

Campbell said the hospital corporation hasn't invested in their nutritional services in a long time, and patient food satisfaction scores hover at about 50 to 55 per cent. "We feel we can only improve from here, and we see in other facilities using contracted vendors, they're more in a range of 70 to 80 per cent satisfaction." CUPE and its supporters are also afraid that less local food will be used.

Between 18 and 20 per cent of HHS food is purchased locally, and Campbell said the number will rise under Compass management. "It will improve to about 50 per cent. It's much better than we can do on our own." jginsberg@thespec.com 905-526-3294

There are nearly 100 combinations of choices, from appetizers to desserts.

Behind the scenes, the technology has changed as well. Meals are assembled on ceramic plates in a cold room where a specialized machine seals each plate with a plastic cover.

Each cover has a valve that allows food to cook with steam pressure, a patented system that is also in use in several Ontario hospitals.

The plates are then transferred to another refrigerated locker, where workers dressed in fleece vests and toques assemble individual orders. Instead of transporting cooked food from a central kitchen across the 14-hectare Royal Jubilee campus, the food is heated in small pantries that are now located near each ward, in batches of five or six meals at a time, so that it is delivered to the bedside within minutes of cooking.

The flavours lean toward the bland

The cost to the Vancouver Island Health Authority is an extra $790,000 a year. That works out to about $3 per patient, per day. Mr. Murphy, who has sampled almost every dish, says it is a worthwhile investment. “People are eating.”