Psssttt.........Pass it on.......
A real wage increase is worth more than a one-time bonus that produces just $1.73 a day!
The BC government wants nurses to take a little and give up a lot. But nurses are worth more than the price of a cup of coffee. A signing bonus would be nice to have, but we need a contract that recognizes nurses' value to patients and to the health care system
The BC government wants to force nurses into a deal by March 31, so they can give us a share of the bonus money by their self-imposed deadline and give us less of a wage increase.
That way the government can stop discussions about ways to improve workload, and force us to give up real wage increases that would recognize the value of RN/RPNs and make us competitive with Alberta and Ontario.
So far, the biggest one-time bonus offered was $4,200 for full-time employees in HEU, pro-rated for part time and casuals. At a tax rate of 40 per cent, that would be $2,520 to take home. Over four years that's about $1.73 a day.
While the one-time money would be nice to have, it's no substitute for a larger real wage increase that would keep on delivering more money to nurses year after year.
For RNs and RPNs a wage increase of 1.6 per cent in the first year produces that $4,200 by the end of a four year contract. An increase of 3.2 per cent produces the $4,200 in two years. But unlike the one-time deal, the wage increases keep generating more money for nurses on into the future, long after the 2010 Olympic Games are over and the tourists have gone home.
And wage increases count toward the value of your pension. A one-time bonus does not.
No wonder the government wants us to sign before March 31.
We'll do our best to come to a deal by March 31, so nurses can share in the bonus money. And if we get the one-time payment, there won't be any union dues taken off it.
But right now the government hasn't offered RNs and RPNs the 14.2 per cent increase they gave LPNs. Nor the 14 or 15 per cent most doctors can receive under their contract. Nor what we need to be competitive with Alberta.
In good conscience, we can only sign a contract that recognizes nurses' value to patients and to the health care system, and deals with our professional issues such as workload.
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