Nurses Open Negotiations with Clear Ask of Government: Make Health Care Better

Collective bargaining between the Nurses’ Bargaining Association (NBA) and the Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC) has officially gotten underway, marking what stands to be a historic round of negotiations for nurses in the province. 

Led by the BC Nurses' Union (BCNU), the NBA bargaining committee dominated opening conversations with employer representatives, bringing the indisputable power of nurses' voices from around the province into the room to provide first-hand accounts of the undeniable impact the nurse staffing crisis is having on them professionally and personally, and how desperately they need help.

“Nurses want to see a contract that respects them for how hard they have been working over the past number of years, one that recognizes them as valuable professionals,” says BCNU President Aman Grewal. “And they want to see a collective agreement that addresses their dire working conditions.” 

The impacts of the pandemic on the health-care system have been well documented across the country, exposing the fragility of a system that was already struggling to meet patient capacity demands, staffing needs and health and safety standards. 

With BC experiencing many of the same nurse staffing challenges as its provincial counterparts, the union is looking forward to negotiating an outcome that not only resets the relationship between nurses and employers in this province, but one that also sets the bar for how the nursing profession is valued across the country. 

“We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make health care better for nurses and better for patients - to be the example for governments and nurses across the country,” says Grewal.

The pandemic, toxic drug crisis and climate crisis have all exacerbated an already-overburdened health-care system. It is critical that negotiations focus on recruitment and retention strategies and the need to make workplaces more inclusive. Creating safer workplaces will help attract and retain a diverse nursing workforce needed to care for increasingly diverse patient populations.

“The health-care crisis is impacting every single nurse in this province, and the patients they care for,” says Grewal. “We look forward to implementing solutions that will prevent the levels of breakdown we’ve seen over the past few years from ever happening again.”

At the union’s provincial bargaining conference in October, 99 per cent of nurses in attendance said they’d be prepared to strike in order to see key priorities, such as improved staffing levels, nurse-to-patient ratios, work-life balance initiatives, safety improvements and fair pay included in the next collective agreement. 

To set up an interview, please contact BCNU Communications at media@bcnu.org.