P.E.I. Nurses' tentative deal includes pay raise, more shift-change notice
P.E.I. Nurses' Union had been without a contract for almost a year
The P.E.I. Nurses' Union and Health PEI have reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract.
The union, which represents 1,200 registered nurses and nurse practitioners across the province, has been without a contract since April 2018.
Union president Mona O'Shea says the bargaining team is feeling "very positive" about the deal. She said it focused on several points, included pay, work-life balance, and the notice given for shift changes.
If the agreement is ratified, nurses will get a wage increase of 5.5 per cent over three years, retroactive to last year, as well as a uniform allowance.
48 hours notice for shift change
O'Shea said the agreement would also give nurses at least 48 hours notice of shift changes, up from the current 24 hours notice.
"You were able to get overtime but it also really compromised your home life, with babysitting potentially, change in appointments you may have, so now we've increased that ," she said. "So we're hoping that will be an improvement and the membership will like that.."
O'Shea said she expects union members will vote on the deal at the end of April.
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With files from Malcolm Campbell