Nurses' union, Health P.E.I. reach tentative deal including long-sought incentives

The P.E.I. Nurses' Union has announced a tentative agreement with Health P.E.I., after being without a contract for two years.

Union president Barbara Brookins said it's "very satisfying" to have a deal that could be finalized before the summer and during the peak recruitment season.

"We are at a very crucial time right now and it needed to be done," she said Friday.

Highlights of the agreement were provided to members Friday, and there will be information sessions on May 15 and 16 before online ratification votes are held May 17 and 18.

One of the highlights of the deal is incentives for nurses to become permanent employees of Health P.E.I., Brookins said.

There will also be incentives to encourage nurses to take on evening, night and weekend shifts.

As well, there will be higher stand-by compensation, to convince nurses to sign up to be on call in case of a sudden shift vacancy, Brookins said. "Those will be appreciated. I mean, [it's] still not enough when you're on call 24/7, but at least it's a little recognition of that extra commitment."

While not providing any numbers, Brookins said the deal would put Island nurse practitioners in "a very good position" relative to others in the country. 

"We're very much on par with New Brunswick [now] but when you look at some of the additional incentives that we've been able to get in there, it will put us above that. So Nova Scotia will finally have to catch up to P.E.I. a little bit."

In a statement posted on its website Thursday, the union said the deal would make the Island's nurse practitioners among the highest paid in Canada.

Brookins said that can be achieved thanks to new language in the tentative agreement that would recognize people's experience as a registered nurse before they become nurse practitioners.

"There will be a little bit more of a merge between experience when you're trying to get into incentives for long service, and so all of our members now are going to be looking at incentives at 10 years and 15 years instead of waiting until 25 years. So that's pretty significant," Brookins said.

She added that members can qualify for additional compensation for remaining a permanent employee within Health P.E.I.

Brookins said numbers regarding the incentives will be released to the public after the deal's ratification vote.