N.B. nurses union to hold strike vote this week

The province's nurses are poised to begin a strike vote this week, the president of the New Brunswick Nurses Union says.

Paula Doucet said the union will hold strike votes across the province beginning on Thursday, Dec. 2. Voting will continue through to Dec. 5, and votes will be counted on Monday, Dec. 6.

Doucet said the nurses are not in bargaining and have not been called back to the bargaining table. 

"The last offer was rejected on Oct. 6 by all the nurses in the province and I've not had another offer presented to me," she said Tuesday evening.

The union represents 9,000 licensed practical nurses, registered nurses and nurse practitioners. They have been without a contract since Dec. 31, 2018.

Doucet has repeatedly warned of the pressures of nursing shortages and the increasing reality of burnout.

• Nurses say working conditions have reached 'crisis'

New Brunswick had a nursing shortage before COVID-19 hit. But Doucet said the pandemic has forced more nurses to take time off for stress leave.

In April, there were at least 700 vacant nursing positions across the province, and Doucet warned the system was on the verge of crumbling.

"There's nobody to call upon. … they're exhausted," she said at the time.

In September, nurses protested at the legislature, saying working conditions had reached "crisis" levels. By that time, Doucet said nursing job vacancies had climbed to at least 854.

Asked Tuesday afternoon about the planned strike vote, Finance Minister Ernie Steeves expressed optimism that the situation would be resolved and said there are meetings planned for this week.

"We need everybody to get to the table, and they have been, all along," he told reporters outside the legislature. "There have been some meetings and there are meetings scheduled again for later on this week and next week."

Steeves said the nurses have a "tremendously" difficult job, one that has become all the more challenging during the pandemic.

"The nurses have to know that we do value them. They have a tremendously hard job and we know that we have to step up," he said. 

"We'll get it worked out. We have to get it worked out."