Nurses in British Columbia are intensifying their job action, with picketers demonstrating in Victoria and now expanding their strike to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. The strike, which commenced on July 2, has already seen picket lines set up at prominent healthcare facilities such as Vancouver General Hospital, Surrey Memorial Hospital, and the Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre in Surrey over the past week.
Adriane Gear, the president of the BC Nurses’ Union, revealed that the escalation is a response to over 2,300 complaints alleging that health employers have been engaging in bullying, harassment, intimidation, and failing to support non-nursing duties of union members participating in the job action. Formal unfair labor practice applications have been filed at the labor board in response to these allegations.
Despite the B.C. government appointing mediators Vince Ready and Amanda Rogers to facilitate negotiations, no meetings had occurred as of Sunday. The nurses are planning further job actions across Vancouver Island in the upcoming week, with concerns about behaviors displayed by Island Health influencing their decisions on where to picket.
Island Health emphasized that nurses are valued members of the healthcare system and affirmed their respect for workers’ right to collectively bargain during this period of job action. The health authority has protocols in place to ensure essential service levels are maintained at picketed sites, urging the public not to delay seeking medical care due to the labor dispute.