‘Devalued and disposable’
Ontario nurses demoralized by pay cap
OTTAWA — After months of being hailed as heroes for their work during the pandemic, Ontario’s nurses say the imposition of a one-percent pay cap is a slap in the face.
The ruling, decided through arbitration, was handed down last week. The Ontario Nurses Association, which represents more than 68,000 Registered Nurses and health professionals affected by it, has launched a Charter challenge against the provincial law that caps public sector wages and is asking that nurses be exempted.
Beyond the fact that Ontario’s Bill 124 will keep nurses’ pay increases below the cost of living, it is also sexist, say Ottawa nurses and the association that represents them. Male dominated professions, including firefighters and police are not affected by the province’s public sector wage legislation. But nursing, which is dominated by women, has not been exempted.
“Since this (pandemic) started, our government and, in particular, our premier have been hailing us as heroes and superheroes and yet we have fought for PPE (personal protective equipment), we have fought to keep ourselves safe and patients safe, and then we are told you are a superhero but you are only worth one per cent,” said Rachel Muir, Local 83 bargaining unit president with the Ontario Nurses Association.
“It has made nurses across this province feel devalued and disposable,” Muir said.
Some local nurses are planning to express their frustration at the arbitrated settlement with protests Thursday afternoon at The Ottawa Hospital and Queensway Carleton.
Ottawa nurse Cindy McCambley said the settlement is made worse because it comes during a difficult time for nurses, most of whom have faced increased risks and stresses on the job during the pandemic.
“Nurses are demoralized,” said McCambley. “It is a time when the majority of the world has been told to stay home. There is nothing more I would love more than to stay home and protect my family and myself.”
ONA president Vicki McKenna, said in a statement that the bill has “widened the gender pay-equity gap and the impact on the morale of our dedicated RNs and healthcare professionals, working under tremendously challenging circumstances during this pandemic, has been devastating.”
The bill limits wage increases for public sector workers to one per cent over three years.
Muir said nurses’ wages in Ontario have not kept up with inflation for a decade. The latest ruling, she said, will put them further behind. She said many nurses are deciding to leave the profession, which faces a shortage.
That is a risk Ontario can’t afford, said McKenna.
“At a time when the province desperately needs its RNs and health-care professionals to provide quality patient care, it is vital that we attract and retain more nurses to the system. RNs and health-care workers are not an expense, they are an invaluable asset.”
The Ontario government’s public sector wage restraint legislation came into effect last fall. During each year of its three-year period, salary and benefits cannot exceed one per cent, although there are some exceptions.
It applies to the government and Crown agencies, boards and commissions, as well as school boards, public hospitals, universities and colleges, Children’s aid socieities, Ornge air ambulance, Ontario Power Generation, not-for-profit long-term care homes and other organizations. It does not apply to police or municipal workers.
Temporary pandemic pay bumps for front-line workers were exempted from the act.
Teachers and other groups have also challenged the act, which the government calls a fair and equitable way to manage public sector compensation.