NAPE disappointed by lack of transparency on Medavie contract from NLHS
The Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE) is expressing serious concern over the lack of transparency surrounding a contract between Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services and Medavie, which has direct implications for its members.
After being denied access to the contract from government, NAPE was advised by them to file an Access to Information and Protection of Privacy (ATIPP) request with the NLHS. NAPE did, and the version of the contract received in response was so heavily redacted that it provided no meaningful insight into its contents or its potential impact on unionized workers.
“This level of redaction renders the document effectively useless,” said NAPE President, Jerry Earle. “Our members deserve transparency, especially when their work and future employment may be affected.”
NAPE first requested access to the contract in early February, when it became known that multiple positions would be contracted out under the agreement. Since then, the union says it has repeatedly sought clarity on the scope of the contract and its broader implications.
Without access to the full agreement, NAPE says it is impossible to determine how far the contracting out extends or what future plans may exist.
Prior to the ATIPP request, NAPE was provided with a two-page summary of what is a contract exceeding 400 pages. “Anyone with even a basic understanding of contracts knows that the devil is in the details,” said Earle. “We have been trying to access these document for months and denying NAPE access to those details is unacceptable.”
NAPE’s in-house legal counsel is now preparing a request for the privacy commissioner to review the decision to deny NAPE access to the full contract.
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