Yukon Hospital Corp. named a top employer

The Yukon Hospital Corp. has been named one of Canada's best employers for 2011, but the union representing many of its employees says it's puzzled by that honour.

Mediacorp Canada Inc., which runs the Canada's Top 100 Employers competition, named the Whitehorse-based hospital corporation along with 99 other companies on Friday.

The Yukon Hospital Corp. runs Whitehorse General Hospital and has recently taken over responsibility for the hospitals in Dawson City and Watson Lake.

Among other things, the corporation was honoured for giving its employees:

• Access to on-site amenities, including a fitness centre, religious observance room, employee lounges and a cafeteria.
• Parental top-up payments to those who are new parents, including adoptive parents.
• A four-week vacation allowance after their first year on the job.
• A defined benefit pension plan.

Hospital corporation CEO Joe MacGillivray said Friday that the award is proof that it's "putting in place a good work environment, suitable compensation and benefits."

But Laurie Butterworth, president of the Yukon Employees' Union, argued that the Yukon Hospital Corp. is really a tough employer to deal with.

"There's all kinds of things in here that fall under the collective agreement that seem to be attacked every time we turn around over there," said Butterworth, whose union represents close to 100 of the hospital corporation's workers.

Butterworth said if unionized employees had been asked for their feedback on the Yukon Hospital Corp., the results may have been a lot different.

The hospital corporation and the union are set to begin new collective bargaining sessions in the next few months.

In the meantime, the hospital corporation will get to keep its title as one of Canada's best employers for the next year.