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May 4, 1999
International Nurses' Day, May 12th
Together Nurses Carry the Torch Forward
On May 12th, Florence Nightingale's birthday, nurses across Canada will be staging a number of events at 12 noon to bring to the public's attention the plight of nursing.
From coast to coast the demands from nurses are the same; create new nursing positions, LEFT ways to recruit and retain nurses, convert casual positions into full-time positions, increase training opportunities, implement pay equity, just to mention a few. In some provinces the loss of collective bargaining rights has become a new reality.
From Saskatoon to St. John's, from Winnipeg to Montreal, from Vancouver to Charlottetown and elsewhere, nurses will be holding candlelight ceremonies at their workplaces to symbolize the fact that nurses have carried the "torch" long enough and that without their demands being met the "flames" of the future of nursing will be extinguished!
Across BC we are asking Steward Coordinators to organize an event at their workplace that will depict the unity, strength and will of all nurses across Canada to carry the "torch" of their profession forward in the face of adversity.
What Steward Coordinators Can Do:
- Just before noon on May 12th, ask your members to join you for a candlelight ceremony outside of your workplace.
- Ask each member to light one candle representing the energy, motivation and commitment that they bring to their work and the nursing profession.
- Precisely at 12 noon extinguish the candle's flame---symbolic of the erosion of nursing.
- Ask members to then re-light the first candle and light another---to create the image and vision of what nursing could look like with additional numbers and all our demands met!
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What BCNU Members Can Do:
- Join together outside of your workplace just before 12 noon on May 12th.
- Light a candle of protest and hope!
- Watch for a further notice from your Steward Coordinator about the location and details of your specific candlelight event!
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Steward Coordinators are encouraged to show their support in this cross Canada initiative by organizing an event as described above at their workplace.
Communications staff will assist by developing speaking materials as required and supporting local media events as necessary.
May 12th is approaching quickly!
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