Wage template off the table, Williams tells nurses

The Newfoundland and Labrador government yanked its wage offer away from the bargaining table Wednesday, shortly after the province's nurses union announced a strike vote.

Premier Danny Williams said the four-year wage template that has been accepted by most public servants is no longer available to groups that have yet to sign.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Nurses' Union had only just advised its members that a strike vote would start Feb. 9.

Williams said the move is related to announcements in the federal budget, which — if approved — will mean a loss of what the provincial government has estimated to be more than $1.5 billion over three years.

Williams reacted angrily to the budget changes, arguing that Prime Minister Stephen Harper gave "the maximum shaft" to Newfoundland and Labrador.

Williams has asked the province's unions and employee associations to agree to a four-year wage package worth about 21.5 per cent over four years, with compounding. It includes a raise of eight per cent in the first year, with four per cent raises in the next three years. The largest public sector union and others, including the association representing teachers, have agreed. Tentative agreements remain in place.

The premier's move raises the stakes in a long-running conflict between the nurses and the government.

NLNU president Debbie Forward would not comment on Williams's comments on Wednesday afternoon, even as she outlined the union's strategy to reporters.

'I share your anger': union president

In a memo obtained by CBC News, Forward likened key provincial politicians to bullies who are trying to intimidate her members into a new contract.

Forward focused much of the memo against the provincial government, including Finance Minister Jerome Kennedy, who just last Friday said the government was prepared to legislate nurses back to work if they launched a strike.

"I share your anger," said Forward. "[Kennedy's] comments are reflective of the climate we have been attempting to negotiate in for the last year. There has been inflexibility, disrespect and dictation on the part of government throughout this process and, clearly, nothing has changed."

Talks between the NLNU and the provincial government, as well as regional health authorities, broke down last fall. The government is offering salary raises worth 21.5 per cent over four years, but the union has consistently said that is inadequate to solve chronic recruitment and retention problems.

The NLNU later launched a campaign to pressure government, including a refusal to perform what it called "non-nursing duties," including booking appointments, housekeeping and running lab samples.

The NLNU had intended to launch a strike vote in January, but only last week said it could not proceed without having essential worker agreements in place with various employers.

In her memo, though, Forward indicated that the union will hold a strike vote much earlier than it had indicated just last week.

"Threatening to legislate nurses back to work in the event of a strike and restating the possibility of reducing the wage offer are simply further attempts from government to bully nurses into accepting their template. As we have said to the minister and publicly before, and repeat today, nurses will not be bullied into accepting an agreement."