B.C. nurses approve 5-year agreement with 5.5% wage increase
Deal includes government commitments on workplace violence, rural recruitment and specialty training
After "a lot of late nights" of negotiation, the B.C. Nurse's Union has voted to ratify a five-year contract with the B.C. government that gives the nurses a 5.5 per cent wage increase, and other provisions.
Eighty-five per cent of nurses voted in favour of the deal, which the union said gives nurses a stronger voice to shape health care policy.
"We are very pleased with the results," said union president Gayle Duteil. "Now will be the challenge. We will hold their feet to the fire."
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Duteil said the last contract with the Health Employers of B.C. was not fully implemented in terms of hiring new nurses, and the union and employer are now in arbitration on that issue.
The deal includes government commitments to targeting workplace violence and rural and remote recruitment.
It also includes 850 seats of education for specialty areas — including operating room nurses. A shortage of OR nurses has closed two operating rooms at B.C. Children's Hospital, and caused problems elsewhere.
"We have over a thousand vacancies right now in speciality areas across the province and that has impacted patient care," Duteil said.
'A lot of late nights'
B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake said he was "extremely pleased" the contract had such strong support from nurses.
Reaching the agreement took time, given the issues with the last contract, he said.
"It was a lot of hours, a lot of late nights," he said Wednesday.
"If you are in a hospital you know the great work nurses do everyday. For us it is important they are in an environment and they have a positive outlook, where they feel valued."
Lake said the agreement was reached under the government's Economic Stability Mandate, which includes provisions for extra wage increases if B.C.'s economy exceeds annual forecasts.
B.C.'s unionized government workers received a small pay increase last year after Statistics Canada reported the provincial economy grew 3.2 per cent in 2014, exceeding independent projections of 2.3 per cent.
With files from Richard Zussman and the Canadian Press