FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February
12, 2016
Ontario Nurses
Say Enough is Enough –
Concessions and Layoffs Must Stop Now
TORONTO – Ontario nurses say enough
is enough following three futile weeks of bargaining with the Ontario Hospital
Association (OHA). Contract talks came to an abrupt halt when the OHA team made
a final offer which would result in the gutting of our wages, benefits and job
security.
The union representing more
than 58,000 hospital RNs has been clear from day one that RN workloads and lack
of staffing are at crisis levels and something must be done immediately to stop
the unprecedented wave of RN cuts, says ONA President Linda Haslam-Stroud, RN. The
current collective agreement between ONA's hospital-sector RNs and their
employers expires on March 31.
Haslam-Stroud is appalled
at what has been tabled by the employer. She says that, "we will not
bargain away our future or our ability to provide quality patient care. Neither
are we prepared to devalue the contributions made by these crucial
professionals." ONA stands firm in our commitment to negotiate an
agreement that fairly reflects the contribution that RNs make to our patients.
Ontario's nurses are
calling on the provincial government to give hospitals a wake-up call about the
integral role that RNs play in the government's "Patients First"
agenda. Registered Nurses have had enough of staffing shortages leading to
death and disease, escalating workloads and violence. Nurses continue to suffer
from work environments that contribute to the highest injury and illness rates
of any profession.
Unsafe RN staffing levels
have become more common as hospitals have cut RN positions to balance budgets;
increasingly, RNs are finding they are unable to provide care consistent with
the standards set by their regulator. Ontario has cut more than 1,200 RN
positions in the past 13 months.
The message from Ontario's
nurses is crystal clear: Our patients deserve better!
ONA is the union representing 60,000 registered nurses
and allied health professionals, as well as more than 14,000 nursing student
affiliates, providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public
health, the community, clinics and industry.
