N.L. nurses reject government's 'final offer'

Nurses in Newfoundland and Labrador have voted 63 per cent against accepting the government's "final offer," paving the way for a possible strike later this month.

Members of the Newfoundland and Labrador nurses union have been voting over the last week on the offer and the results were announced Saturday afternoon.

The earliest the province's 5,000 nurses could hit the bricks is May 18.

The provincial government is offering a 21.5 per cent compounded wage increase over four years, similar to offers made to and accepted by other public sector unions.

Newfoundland and Labrador Nurses' Union president Debbie Forward says she's not surprised that nurses rejected the government's offer.

However she says she's still hopeful that the province will send the dispute to arbitration rather than risk a strike.

The government has stated that it's not prepared to take that route.

The union objects to two sections of the proposed four-year contract:

• A market adjustment measurement that would allow the government to pay newly hired nurses more than nurses who are already working — even if they're doing the same work.
• A change to loss of earnings benefits that would allow the province to terminate nurses who become permanently disabled on the job, after they have received two years of earnings loss benefits.