Executive Councillor for Pensions and Seniors Health: “We are not backing down.”
BCNU’s Executive Councillor for Pensions and Seniors Health Michelle Sordal began her address to delegates with a clear message. As bargaining intensifies, compensation is about far more than just wages. She positioned total compensation - including all payments and benefits – as a key battleground in the fight to recruit, retain and support the nursing workforce.
“Pensions equal bargained power,” said Sordal. “They are not given or gifted – they’re won.”
“Securing the best total compensation for nurses in bargaining will get them to stick around longer,” she argued, citing the province’s aims of retaining and recruiting more nurses to the system. She also warned that any loss of benefits would inevitably drive nurses out of the workforce.
Sordal reported that the union has reached more than 3,700 members through its pension workshops. She explained that pension education is about helping members appreciate the value of this benefit whether they are new in their careers or preparing for retirement.
She updated delegates on members’ use of the Nurses’ Bargaining Association Hardship Fund and Retiree Benefit Program (RBP). Last year, the Hardship Fund provided $1.6 million in total benefits to 1,053 members facing difficult circumstances. The RBP, which provides funding for enhanced retirement benefits and inflation protection for retired nurses, paid out $52.4 million to more than 10,000 retirees, averaging $5,200 each.
Lastly, Sordal shared results from the union’s recent survey of members working in long-term care, which found frequent concerns with staffing shortages, high workload and insufficient ratios, with 79 percent of respondents believing they do not have the necessary support and training to provide care for the population they serve.
Sordal finished by circling back to the union’s fight for pensions and total compensation at the bargaining table: “We are in this fight for our members, and we are not backing down.”