Appointment of Special Mediators Must Lead to Meaningful Progress for BC Nurses
Union says job action will continue as nurses await evidence government and employers are prepared to reach a fair agreement
The BC Nurses' Union says today's appointment of special mediators to assist with negotiations is only meaningful if it results in the significant movement needed to address the issues driving thousands of nurses to job action across the province.
The union also expressed disappointment that news of the appointment was announced publicly before it had been formally communicated to the Nurses' Bargaining Association (NBA).
"The first time nurses should hear about a major development in negotiations should not be through a government announcement,” said BCNU President Adriane Gear. “Nor should we be learning through the media who we will be working with. The way today’s announcement was communicated does little to build the trust that’s needed to move these negotiations forward.”
The appointment comes after bargaining reached an impasse and nurses began escalating job action across British Columbia, following a record 98.2 per cent strike mandate.
"This is not how a process built on good-faith bargaining should unfold," says NBA Chief Negotiator Jim Gould. “As the NBA prepares to participate in the mediation process, nurses remain focused on securing an agreement that meaningfully addresses wages, staffing shortages, workplace violence and the growing pressures facing the profession.”
Job action will continue while mediation gets underway with picket lines expected to go up at Victoria General Hospital on Sunday and Nanaimo Regional General Hospital on Monday and the Royal Jubilee Hospital on Tuesday.
"Nurses are taking the difficult step of escalating job action because they're fighting for solutions,” says Gear. “We remain hopeful, but we are also realistic. Until we see meaningful progress at the bargaining table, nurses will continue standing together and taking action to fight for the changes patients and our profession need."
BCNU says the coming days will demonstrate whether the appointment represents a genuine commitment to resolving the dispute or simply another delay in addressing the challenges nurses have been raising throughout bargaining.
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