It’s a small earthquake for the health of the people of Fribourg. This Thursday, the HFR Board of Directors announced a series of measures to reduce its costs and clean up its finances. But while citizens had largely supported a strengthening of nursing care in the vote, the exact opposite is being put in place. After the Council of State announced, a few weeks ago, that it was out of the question to increase salaries, we are now being told that there will be job cuts.
The number of jobs that will be cut has not been articulated, but the intention of the HFR is to reduce its expenses by 15 million per year over the next four years, to reach a total of 60 million francs. If reducing the payroll is not the only lever that the HFR intends to use, it will still be the main one since it alone represents around 70% of costs. Furthermore, in addition to job cuts, the HFR plans to “optimize” the number of beds and “redefine the composition of the medical-care teams”.
Please note that there will be no layoffs strictly speaking. The HFR counts on “natural” departures. And in this context, he also announced that the internal medicine department of the Meyriez-Morat hospital would be transferred to Tafers in 2025. Employees who do not resign will therefore have to cross the canton from west to east to get to the new workplace.
In the wake of these announcements, the Public Services Union (SSP) expressed its indignation. “Most services are already operating at a tight pace, and staff are often already on the verge of exhaustion. While additional resources should be allocated to improve working conditions and wages, the cantonal authorities plan to tighten their belts further. It’s irresponsible!” The SSP also recalls that before the vote on the “H24” initiative, last June, the Council of State had denied the existence of a savings plan. In his conditions, he calls for mobilization. Exchanges with other unions are planned, “in order to discuss a coordinated response”.
