Nurses' delay in returning to talks disappoints Williams

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams said Friday news that the union representing nurses doesn't want to resume talks for at least five more weeks is proof that the union's leadership has wanted a strike all along.

Williams said he was disappointed after the nurses union said it wanted to complete its strike vote before resuming contract negotiations.

"I felt all along that this was all about the leadership of the nurses union wanting to take this to a strike vote and ultimately to a strike. It's a frustration, but it's also a disappointment. We can't do anything else and we're prepared to talk and they're saying no. So we can't do any more," he said.

Newfoundland and Labrador Nurses' Union president Debbie Forward said Friday that she was pleased with Thursday's government announcement that it will not put pre-conditions on contract talks. However, Forward said the union wanted to continue the six-week strike vote it began Monday.

"We clearly indicated to him in writing two weeks ago that once we started our strike vote we'd see it through to completion," Forward said of correspondence with Finance Minister Jerome Kennedy.

Kennedy held a news conference late Thursday to announce the province was dropping pre-conditions, including a demand for a four-year contract, from its bargaining stance with nurses.

At a strike vote meeting in Whitbourne Friday morning, nurses told CBC News they are happy with Kennedy's announcement, saying they felt the government was finally getting their message.

Kennedy recently rejected a contract proposal from the union calling for a 16 per cent raise over two years. At the time, he said the province would agree only to a four-year contract.

The nurses also made a subsequent offer, saying they would give up their right to strike if the government would agree to binding arbitration, an offer the government also turned down.

Forward told CBC News on Friday that the union is very pleased with the strike vote so far, with a 90 per cent turnout in St. John's on Monday on the first day of the vote.

She added that nurses do not want to strike, but will do so if they cannot reach an agreement with the government that they deem fair.