8 months after nurses signed a collective agreement, their union says premiums still haven't been paid

The head of Newfoundland and Labrador's registered nurses' union is calling foul against the province's health authority, saying money earned in its collective agreement signed eight months ago is still yet to be paid.

The Registered Nurses' Union Newfoundland and Labrador and the province ratified its collective agreement on Aug. 4. The deal includes a negotiated long-service premium for nurses in the system.

Fifteen years of service would pay nurses an extra one per cent on top of their annual salary. Nurses with 20 years of service would receive an additional two per cent, with nurses receiving another two per cent at 25 years.

Union president Yvette Coffey told CBC News that Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services was supposed to pay the premiums effective to when the deal was signed, but then told members in November it would be paid by March 31.

"We received notice this morning that it's not going to happen. No rationale, no communication to our members, and no timeline that this will be implemented," Coffey said Monday.

"To say that I am not happy would be an understatement. Our members have been very patient. We have been very patient, but our patience is gone. We negotiated in good faith, our members have been nickeled and dimed."

Coffey said nurses are facing other issues when it comes to benefits. She cited the $5,000 signing bonus given to permanent full-time members for each year of their contract, which is part of the collective agreement, saying some nurses have gotten prorated payments or haven't been paid at all.

"We already have members out there who are disillusioned, feeling disrespected, devalued and demoralized by what they have been through," Coffey said.

"Now to turn around and be told that something that we negotiated is not going to be paid in the timeline that it was committed to, it's a slap in the face to our members."

In a statement to CBC News, Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services spokesperson Mikaela Etchegary said the health authority understands nurses' frustrations and that the delay is caused by having to manually review the employees who earn the premium.

"In some cases, the information required predates the human resource information systems of the former regional health authorities. As a result, it has taken more time to understand the historical data stored in each legacy HR system," the statement said.

N.L. Health Services said it expects the incentive to be issued this spring, saying the original timeline to issue payment was this winter.

Coffey voiced frustration of her own, saying it shouldn't have taken eight months to determine who has worked in health care for at least 15 years.

Coffey's remarks come just days after the province announced record spending in health care as part of the 2024-25 budget, but she said there was nothing to help nurses currently in the system.

The budget included $500,000 to establish a new mentorship program for experienced nurses to mentor nursing graduates, but Coffey says the province also dragged its heels on that.

"We actually negotiated the mentorship program in our collective agreement that was signed last August. There was nothing new in this budget for us," she said.

"I feel like it's driving people out of the system. Like, if you want to retain nurses in Newfoundland and Labrador, you have to show them that you respect them … that they're valued. And what is happening here in this province is not showing them that. It is actually doing the complete opposite."

Coffey has asked the government to get involved and ensure nurses are paid what they bargained for, adding she'll take directives from her members regarding next steps.

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