Nurses push full steam ahead with strike vote

Premier Danny Williams is dismissing an allegation that the Newfoundland and Labrador government is bullying nurses, while their union said Thursday their strike vote will proceed as planned.

Newfoundland and Labrador Nurses' Union president Debbie Forward, in a memo sent to the union's membership outlining the strategy leading to a strike vote next month, accused Finance Minister Jerome Kennedy of "bully" tactics intended to threaten nurses.

Kennedy last week said the government would use the legislature to force nurses back to work in the event of a strike. In December, he made similar comments, while also suggesting the government was prepared to cancel its wage offer.

Williams, who pulled the wage offer off the bargaining table on Wednesday, said Kennedy has only been telling it the way it is.

"When Jerome Kennedy was asked last week what would happened if nurses went out, well, we are not going to leave our hospitals unattended," Williams told reporters.

"If push came to shove, after they were out for a period of time, if we had to legislate them back, we would."

Williams said because the new federal budget translates into a loss of $1.6 billion in expected revenue over the next three years, the government cannot maintain its wage template for public-sector unions that have yet to complete bargaining.

Forward said Thursday that the union will not be deterred by the removal of the wage template. She said a strike vote "remains our only means" of getting a decent contract.

Six weeks of voting

Voting starts Feb. 9, and will take six weeks to complete in locations across the province. Assuming members back the executive, the union could be in a legal strike position in late March, after the government is given formal notification.

"Where are we going to be in four years? I can tell you where you're going to be," Forward said Wednesday.

"You're going to have institutions close, people being transferred out, more beds close, surgeries cancelled, and we'll be in an uproar because we can't provide health services."

The government has already negotiated four-year wage packages, with overall raises worth about 21.5 per cent, with most of its civil servants as well as the province's teachers.

The NLNU had been seeking a more ambitious agenda, including increases to beginning and top salary scales, to keep young graduates in the province and prevent older nurses from leaving for higher-paying jobs in other jurisdictions.

While money issues have dominated debate, nurses have insisted a new contract must address issues like forced overtime, extended work periods and cancelled vacations.

On Wednesday, Forward all but acknowledged that the union's opening position — a 24 per cent increase over two years — is unrealistic.

'No opportunity to negotiate'

"There was no opportunity to negotiate. We've had no opportunity to negotiate," Forward said.

"There is not one nurse in this province who thinks they're going to get 24 per cent over two years. We just want the opportunity to negotiate."

Forward said the union will go to court to fight for binding arbitration if the government imposes a contract.

Meanwhile, Liberal Leader Yvonne Jones said Williams ought not to blame the federal budget for his government's latest moves.

"I don't think any collective agreement with any bargaining unit in this province that's been ongoing for the last year should have been contingent on this federal budget," she said.

"I think anytime the province looks at collective bargaining processes, it's got to be done within our own means and what we can afford, and they entered into this a year ago."

Jones accused the government of addressing nurses with threats and ultimatums.