As B.C. continues to suffer from a shortage of health-care workers, potential job action in the coming months could exacerbate the problem.
BC Nurses’ Union (BCNU) President Adriane Gear says members are at an impasse with their employer, the Health Employers’ Association of BC (HEABC), and are preparing to vote on a strike.
Gear tells 1130 NewsRadio that negotiations have not been “fruitful.”
“We’re unable to address the issues that are most important to my members, and we’ve just become more frustrated, and at some point, I think you just have to make the decision that walking away is the best next step,” she said.
The union officially declared an impasse Monday night and authorized a strike vote.
Gear says the bargaining team is working to improve employee benefits, including receiving massage therapy, which she says prompted the province to bring in veteran arbitrator Vince Ready.
“Registered massage therapy is an issue for the employer, and we understand that the employer would like to ensure some cost containment around that,” said Gear.
“However, since 2019, we have gone through a global pandemic; Our staffing levels are extremely poor… Nursing is a physically and psychologically demanding job, and our injury rates have gone up 25 per cent since 2019. Our psychological injuries have tripled. And so we want nurses to be healthy and to be able to stay at the bedside, providing care that British Columbians deserve. What nurses need is actually to be cared for as well. And so benefits become very important.”
The choice to use an arbitrator, Gear says, has become a “hot point” for the union.
Related:
While acknowledging the province is in a “fiscally challenging environment,” with a $13.3-billion deficit amid an affordability crisis, Gear says the BCNU is also organizing for equity.
“There is some enhanced mandate money that’s been made available to other bargaining associations. And at this time, we do not have confirmation that that will be afforded to us as well,” said Gear.
She says the last thing the 50,000 members want is a strike, but says job action would send a strong message.
“Nurses are the ones that are holding together this system, and frankly, we’ve been carrying that burden for far too long, and it is time for us to stand up for ourselves. And so for us, that is what a strike vote really represents.”
1130 NewsRadio has reached out to the HEABC for comment.