Seven redundancies have been confirmed in the Dunedin Hospital kitchen as part of its outsourcing to a multinational company.
E Tu organiser Anna Huffstutler said the job losses, from about 70 staff, were fewer than expected, but Compass Group had not yet restructured staff cafes, involving a further 30 staff.
‘‘There's still some very upset people; it's horrible.''
In addition, a handful of staff were being redeployed, and there were some partial redundancies where staff were losing hours, but details had not been confirmed.
None of the Southland kitchen staff lost their jobs.
Ms Huffstutler said members and delegates had been ‘‘fabulous'' in the consultation period with Compass, and had helped by being fully engaged with the process.
Compass has yet to make the major change to how hospital meals, and meals on wheels, are provided.
From next April, a switch to ‘‘regeneration'' will mean reheating, rather than cooking meals from scratch.
The major produce supplier to Dunedin Hospital, Kaan's Catering Supplies, is still waiting to find out whether the company will secure a long-term contract.
Managing director Lindsay Kaan had expected to know by now, but it would be next year before the result was known, he said yesterday.
In the meantime, he continued to supply the kitchen. ‘‘We're hopeful that everything gets sorted out early in the year.''
The Southern District Health Board's 15-year contract with Compass Group is expected to save $6.96million over 15 years in net present value terms.
