BCNU launches Hire a Nurse campaign
President Gayle Duteil has unveiled BCNU's Hire a Nurse campaign, which is designed to assist in recruiting up to 1643 additional RNs and RPNs to positions across six health authorities and Providence Health Care.
The new positions, which are required to be in place by March 31 as part of the 2012-14 Nurses Bargaining Association (NBA) agreement, will be recruited in a ninety-day window in order to address a system-wide nursing shortage. This shortage has resulted in BCNU members being forced to work short without appropriate relief, work excessive OT, and respond to on-call too often.
BCNU has agreed to work closely with health authorities to expedite bringing additional nurses into the system.
Hire a Nurse is focusing first on inviting casual RN and RPN members to indicate their interest in being considered for regular jobs as part of this process.
A second priority for Hire a Nurse will be new nurse graduates, followed by any nurses not currently working for health authorities.
BCNU is not responsible for the actual hiring process, which remains with the health authorities. However, information about casuals seeking permanent jobs will be collected by the union and forwarded to health authorities on a weekly basis. Interested casuals should send an email to hireanurse@bcnu.org as soon as possible. LPN members may also wish to indicate their interest, which will be retained for use when additional LPN positions are created.
BC's casual nurse workforce is the highest in Canada at 30% of all nurses.
Health authorities may choose to hold a quick job fair as one means of expediting this extraordinary hiring process. If a job fair is held, BCNU members in regular positions will have access to these positions; however, health authorities may award them directly based on seniority. The posting period for these positions would only be one week.
The ninety-day period in which these special hiring provisions prevail will disrupt the regular job posting and application process for NBA nurses. However, this exception is being made for the purpose of rapidly bringing more nurses into our health care system. Normal access to posted positions will resume on April 1, 2016.
Health authorities are required to inform Nurse Health Authority Committees (N/HACs) of their hiring processes before moving ahead. BCNU will be communicating further on the health authorities' plans as they are finalized.
The accelerated creation and filling of positions and commitment to hire over 1600 additional nurses also removes a major obstacle to achieving a new contract for all nurses.
Stay tuned for more information and talk with your BCNU steward regarding the process for this initiative in your health authority.