B.C. nurses have officially started job action and here's what that means
B.C. nurses announced they are starting job action today, after issuing a 72-hour strike notice on Monday.
Nurses will stop doing non-nursing duties and refuse all non-essential overtime hours.
In a release, the BC Nurses Union (BCNU) said that the “provincial government failed to meaningfully respond to nurses’ concerns or improve its bargaining mandate.”
“This is not the outcome nurses wanted,” said BCNU President Adriane Gear in the release.
“Throughout this process, nurses have been clear about what is needed to strengthen the profession and stabilize our health-care system. We have remained ready to bargain in good faith, but the government has not responded with the urgency this moment demands.”
She added that they do not want to disrupt patient care.
“Today’s job action prioritizes patient care while sending a clear message to government that it can no longer ignore the pressures facing the profession or the critical role nurses play in sustaining British Columbia’s health-care system.”
Over 98 per cent of nurses voted in support of job action in mid-May, following six months of bargaining between the BC Nurses Union and its employer without reaching a deal.
Following this vote, Gear told Daily Hive that they were able to address a couple of nurses’ concerns: an increase in ‘enhanced mandate money’ to improve working conditions and better benefits.
However, while the Nurses’ Bargaining Association (NBC) and the Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC) reached a tentative agreement on May 22, 67 per cent of nurses voted to reject it on June 19.
BCNU conducted a survey afterwards, finding that their members were looking for some type of retention bonus.
Gear pointed out that the provincial government has been incentivizing nurses to come to B.C.
“So, nurses are saying, ‘Well, what about me, who’s been holding up the system for the last 12 or 15 years? What about me, who’s worked through the pandemic? What about me, who works incredibly short-staffed, and I’m the person orienting these new people that are coming here?”
And while they did “make some headway” on the benefits, the tentative agreement required them to go into an employer-funded, health benefit trust.
“And nurses are just not trusting of the employer, they’re not trusting that in a few years we’re going to end up in a co-pay model.”
In a statement sent to Daily Hive, HEABC said that they and the NBA have agreed to return to the bargaining table.
“The parties will resume negotiations starting early next week to address the issues that both parties believe are important. HEABC believes that negotiations are best kept to the bargaining table where the parties can work together on solutions that are mutually beneficial and support the government’s and employers’ key priorities,” HEABC said.
But Gear pointed out that the HEABC’s bargaining capacity is limited, which is why they will continue job action.
“What they’re saying is, ‘We hear you, that the deal fell short. There’s no more money.’ And so the only people that can change that dynamic are the government.”