Five-year nurses’ contract brings stability: minister
British Columbia’s nurses have ratified a five-year collective agreement with the government.
Consistent with the government’s so-called economic stability mandate, the agreement provides members of the Nurses’ Bargaining Association with a wage increase of 5.5 per cent wage over the five-year term. It also allows for additional increases if the B.C. economy exceeds annual forecasts.
The tentative deal with the Health Employers Association of B.C. was reached in April. Over the past month, the finer details of the agreement were shared and voted upon by the 40,000-strong membership of licensed practical nurses, registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses.
B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake said the positive ratification vote provides long-term stability. Major issues from the last contract were addressed, he said.
“We look forward to moving ahead in a spirit of collaboration with B.C.’s nurses as we continue to transform and improve the delivery of health services — for the benefit of patients and staff.”
As an example, Lake said, more money will be aimed at easing shortages in specialty and operating room positions. “We want to use everyone in the health-care system to the highest and best level of training they have.”
B.C. Nurses’ Union president Gayle Duteil has said the agreement improves the benefits, compensation package and working conditions of nurses across B.C., and addresses major issues of staffing and workload.
“This agreement will improve conditions for nurses and their patients, making it easier to deliver safe care,” Duteil said.
Lake told reporters that the contract recognizes the govern- ment’s collaborative relationship with nurses with the formation of a nursing policy secretariat within the ministry, “so that we have the nursing voice when we’re developing policy.”
Anyone in hospital knows the great work nurses do, he said. “For us, it’s important they be in an environment where they have a positive outlook and where they feel valued and that they have a say in health-care policy, and they are compensated fairly.”
The five-year deal also includes initiatives to prevent violence and improve safety, Duteil said.
The Health Ministry and Nurses’ Bargaining Association have each committed $2 million to expand a violence-prevention program started in 2015, according to a statement from the ministry. That’s in addition to another $2 million from the province to implement solutions to address rural and remote recruitment and retention issues throughout B.C.
The agreement between the Nurses’ Bargaining Association and the Health Employers Association is the last of the health-sector collective agreements to be negotiated under the province’s economic stability mandate, which allows public-sector employers to negotiate longer-term agreements within a fixed fiscal ceiling prescribed by the province.