Health Care Made Better

LEAD NEGOTIATOR BCNU Interim CEO Jim Gould says the latest Nurses’ Bargaining Association collective agreement delivered unprecedented compensation gains for members.

On April 1, BCNU members covered by the Nurses’ Bargaining Association (NBA) collective agreement received a wage increase of three percent. This was the last of three annual wage increases contained in the 2022-2025 NBA contract.

The raise included a two percent general wage increase and an additional one percent cost-of-living adjustment in recognition of the inflationary pressures facing workers today.

BCNU Interim CEO Jim Gould was the contract’s lead negotiator. He says the value of the compensation contained in the agreement can’t be overstated.

“This final wage increase sees members receiving a raise of 13 percent over three-years, and together with other contract improvements to overall compensation, it makes NBA members the highest paid nurses within the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions.”

Gould adds that these raises, together with an expanded wage grid that recognizes nurses for service beyond nine years, means many experienced members saw an increase in net income of between 20 and 40 percent or more, depending on their designation and seniority.

Enhanced shift premiums and special allowances, and full employer-paid college registration fee coverage round out the major highlights of a contract that is unprecedented in the history of nurses’ collective bargaining in the province.

There are many other important gains and provisions in the collective agreement, and effective contract implementation requires stewards and members to be familiar with the newly negotiated language. For this reason, the union organized a series of NBA contract information sessions last fall for members to hear first-hand from BCNU labour relations staff on the progress made since the contact was ratified.

UNPRECEDENTED PREMIUMS

The NBA contract now contains a range of new and enhanced wage premiums and allowances that recognize the many unique challenges working nurses face. Members attending the information sessions spoke about the importance of compensation that goes beyond an hourly wage, and incentives like shift premiums, on-call rates, responsibility pay and isolation travel allowance that make otherwise less attractive shifts more worth taking.

Shaughnessy Heights region member Lisa Hennebery has been nursing for 25 years. She said the negotiated wage premiums mean she’s seeing a difference now and in her future. Hennebery reports being worried about retirement before the new wage premiums and allowances for certain types of work or shifts came in to effect. Now, she feels as though she can make it work.

“[The premiums] have made a serious difference to my pension. Previously, I thought it wasn’t enough to help maintain my lifestyle after retiring. But I entered the new dollar amount in the pension calculator it was significantly more,” she said.

“The wage premiums have made a serious difference to my pension.”

- Lisa Hennebery

Some nurses are also happy to see the new wage premiums because they believe it could help attract people to profession or to taking on more shifts, because they’re finally being fairly compensated for additional roles. “I can see how the premiums may be an incentive for our younger nurses or casual nurses who decide now to work a full-time line instead of a casual position because it is a significant difference if you choose to do a night shift over a day shift,” said Simor Fraser region member Anthony Cheung.

“Being a preceptor for many years, it’s nice to know that nurses are finally getting recognition instead of free training for hospitals,” added the Ridge Meadows Hospital geriatric nurse clinician.

BOOSTING BENEFITS

Numerous surveys have told us that nurses want to be better supported in times of crisis or hardship. Members attending the information sessions learned more about the negotiated Nurse Support Fund designed for this purpose and in recognition of the stresses health-care workers face.

The one-time, $60-million fund is broken into multiple funding streams to address specific needs. The first stream – Hardship Assistance – is now available, and provides financial support to nurses experiencing hardship when other benefits have been exhausted. Its funding is a response to the growing number of health-care workers around the province experiencing a loss of wages because of circumstances beyond their control, such as evacuation due to environmental disasters, sudden changes in family status or family crisis, or an immediate need for food, shelter or medical support not covered by health-care benefits.

Another stream – Supplemental Mental Health Benefit – is being developed by the union in partnership with extended health-care providers, and will provide NBA members with access to up to $5,000 to cover cost of a registered psychologist or a registered clinical counsellor.

BCNU South Fraser Valley region’s Sukhjit Kaur works at Surrey Memorial Hospital.

“It’s a great achievement that we have this money for mental health,” they remarked during a contract information session last October. “We have a great health plan with great extended coverage but at the same time, we have a $900 annual limit. That money goes fast. Nurses are crying out for mental health help now and money can help to provide mental health services.”

“It’s a great achievement that we have this money for mental health.”

- Sukhjit Kaur

Kaur and other members learned that a committee of nurses and staffing experts is working to establish eligibility criteria and ensure accessibility. Further funds will be established to address student hardship and other potential mental health and wellness issues.

EMBRACING DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

The ratification of the current NBA agreement was a landmark moment in BCNU’s pursuit of more just and equitable workplaces. Article 2, which lays out the agreement’s purpose, for the first time acknowledges the harms of colonialism faced by Indigenous peoples both past and present. It commits the union and employers to confronting and working to heal the wounds of systemic racism that have been evident for so long.

Those harms have been extensively documented, and are contained in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada’s final report, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls report and the provincial government’s In Plain Sight report on the widespread systemic racism against Indigenous people in BC’s health-care system. All three of these documents are explicitly referenced in the NBA contract, and represent a genuine commitment to truth and reconciliation and cultural safety in the health-care system for users, patients and staff alike.

Charlene Copley is an Indigenous RN and a steward for Community Virtual Care. She’s also the union’s Pacific Rim region representative on the BCNU Indigenous Leadership Circle. She sees the new Article 2 language as a call for change from the way things have been for too long.

“This article is just bringing to the forefront what has been going on for many, many, years and it needs to stop,” says Copley. “The disrespect, the racism, and providing a safe work environment for everyone.”

For many years, Canada denied Indigenous peoples their inherent right to participate in their cultural and spiritual practices. For example, the potlatch, an important ceremony to several First Nations, and was legally banned for nearly 70 years until the law was repealed in 1951. The NBA agreement aims to acknowledge this injustice by providing for Indigenous members with paid leave to participate in their nations’ ceremonial, cultural and spiritual traditions.

Copley hopes to use the provision to attend the Kamloopa Powwow hosted by the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, the community where the unmarked graves of more than 200 Indigenous children were found in May 2021, at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. Copley’s generation is the first in her family not to attend residential school, and she sees participation in cultural events as part of healing the intergenerational trauma her family has endured.

“There’s an emotional gap when you’re raised in residential schools and you come from huge trauma,” she says. “As a child, my mom would take us to different powwow events, but we were little. We didn’t really understand. So now as an adult I’m trying to reconnect with that part of my ancestry.”

Copley hopes such opportunities will not only allow her and other Indigenous members to attend, but that the growing profile of such events will draw interest from the general public.

“I think for a long time, Indigenous workers have been quiet about what they’re doing on their leaves,” she says. “Powwows are open to the general public, but lot of people don’t attend. I’m hoping that the more these things are talked about and shared…that people will get curious.”

Another NBA contract success is the establishment of four new full-time steward positions tasked with promoting truth and reconciliation, cultural safety and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace. These positions, known as DEI stewards, were filled this winter. Tracia Batson-Dottin and Gurvir Sekhon are two members who were hired for the roles. Batson-Dottin describes the position as a “bridge” between the employer, union and members, and that will help pull communities together for one common goal.

“The new contract language will produce a more inclusive and equitable working environment.”

- Tracia Batson-Dottin

“[DEI stewards] are a source of compassion and give strength to members’ voices,” she says. “My hope is that the introduction of these positions will see fewer grievances being filed, and the promotion of better relationships to improve the health-care experiences of staff, members and patients.”

Sekhon believes the new positions reflect BCNU members’ recognition that workplace inequity is problem and that solutions could be pursued at the NBA bargaining table.

“There are definitely things happening at our workplaces that shouldn’t be,” he says. “We’re in 2024 and you’d think there would be more tolerance.”

Workplaces that are inclusive and welcoming environments for Two-Spirit, gender-diverse and transgender people has also been a top priority for BCNU. 2SLGBTQIA+ members have continually experienced barriers to respect, representation and safety, and many reported being unable to bring their full selves to the workplace. NBA bargaining was an opportunity to address the issue.

The new provincial contract takes aim at gender discrimination by prohibiting deadnaming (using someone’s former name), misgendering (referring to someone using pronouns that do not reflect their gender identity) and doxxing (sharing someone’s personal information, old photos or medical information to harass them). It also allows members to change their personal information with their employer, including their legal name and gender, and use bathrooms and change rooms that align with their gender identity.

Sekhon says the changes are about creating a work environment where people can be themselves.

“No one should have to go to work in fear,” he says. “It should be safe for everyone.” He also says the changes are about a bigger picture. “When you’re making the environment safe for one group of individuals, you’re making it safer for everyone. It has a ripple effect.”

Batson-Dottin says the now-prohibited behaviours can cause severe stress on members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

“The workplace becomes very toxic, absenteeism increases, and individual safety comes into question in that kind of workplace,” she remarks. “The new contract language will produce a more inclusive and equitable working environment for members and patients. And it will allow these members to truly be free to be who they are, not fear victimization and be treated equally and with respect.”

THE NEXT ROUND

Gould is proud of the bargaining committee’s efforts which resulted in record contract gains in the last round of bargaining but notes that “making health care better for nurses and patients is a job that’s never done”.

“A record number of members (40,526) voted last April during the ratification process. It is our hope that we can build upon this number and have all members participate in preparing for the next round of bargaining,” he says. “The current contract expires next March, that means preparations for the next round of negotiations are already underway – please be sure to read your BCNU eNews and attend your regional meetings to keep up-to-date and get involved in the bargaining process.” •

UPDATE (Spring 2024)