Workers calling for consultation
Four unions are asking for more involvement in decisions affecting members
Four unions representing health-care workers in P.E.I. are asking the government and Health P.E.I to involve and consult them before making decisions that affect their members.
An open letter has been signed by four CUPE P.E.I. health-care locals, namely 805, 1051, 1778 and 1779, along with their sibling unions, IUOE Local 942, P.E.I. UPSE and the P.E.I. Nurses' Union, to protest what they say is the "disrespectful and uncollaborative” approach of Health P.E.I. and the Department of Health and Wellness towards workers' issues in the health-care system. The letter stated that in recent years there has been significant deterioration of labour and government relations, leading to frustration among the unions during meetings with Health P.E.I. which appear to be only “lip service” and “check box” meetings.
Barbara Brookins, president of the P.E.I. Nurses’ Union, said they feel left out.
“They come to us after the decisions have already been made and say, 'this is what we plan on doing.' And at that point, when we raise any questions or concerns then we kind of get viewed on as being the barrier or just being the negative one when all we're doing is just trying to make sure that the people that are most impacted by these decisions are included in the decisions.”
Brookins said when this happens, it doesn't matter what the union says, or what input they have. Health P.E.I. moves forward with whatever decision it had initially made prior to informing the union.
“And then they say, we've talked to the union. No, you haven't talked to the union, you provided the union with information. But that's not engagement. That's not being productive and ensuring that everybody's concerns are being addressed.”
She believes those best equipped to offer insights into operational effectiveness are the individuals actively engaged in the work. This crucial perspective, she feels, is currently overlooked. Excluding them from decisionmaking processes, Brookins argues, sets the system up
for failure and contributes to workforce attrition.
Brookins said decisions made without their input often tend to be related to schedules and alterations to the scope of practice, changes to positions, shifts in the health-care providers delivering services, adjustments to staffing levels or relocations of services to different facilities.
She said all these are contributing to nurses leaving due to the lack of flexibility in their schedules. As a result, some nurses are choosing to either leave the system entirely or give up their permanent full-time positions and going for part-time commitments, Brookins said.
“They place agency nurses in areas where there’s high levels of vacancy, but they’re not addressing the reason why there was a high level of vacancy. So, if there’s a lot of nurses or health-care workers that have left a certain area, you need to know why. And you need to address the why.
So, once these agency nurses leave, the problem is still there.”
In an email, Health P.E.I. said it has reviewed the letter posted to social media by unions and it remains dedicated to fostering strong union relationships, including commitment to openness, fairness, transparency and bargaining in good faith.
“Health P.E.I. appreciates the feedback and ideas presented by union partners, and their suggestions are incorporated into decision-making wherever possible. Our goal is to maintain and enhance health-care services to Islanders, and we know we need the trust and partnership of health-care unions to make this happen.”
Brookins said there has been a lot of focus on recruiting more staff, but she also wants to see retention efforts.
“We need to look at offering them some type of incentive to become full time again or to commit to a higher percentage line, instead of paying these agency nurses, exorbitant amounts of funds to leave next week.”