Nurses to end pickets on Island as mediation talks get underway

Adriane Gear told nurses at Royal Jubilee Hospital Tuesday that while she’s hopeful that mediated talks will be successful, she’s “cautious.”

The president of the B.C. Nurses’ Union told nurses picketing at Royal Jubilee Hospital on Tuesday that she’s hopeful mediated talks will be successful, but “cautious,” as the government has yet to move on its position. Tuesday was the last day of scheduled pickets on the Island for the nurses, who opted to take the lines down Tuesday night as a gesture that they are “bargaining in good faith,” Adriane Gear said. “We will maintain our other job action of banning non-nursing duties and restricting overtime, but everyone is going back to work,” she said.

Veteran mediator Vince Ready and Amanda Rogers have been tasked with settling the dispute between the Health Employers Association of B.C. and the B.C. Nurses’ Union, which represents 60,000 unionized nurses. Gear headed back to Vancouver on Tuesday afternoon for what she called the first official day of mediation talks, following introductions during an initial session Monday “As mediation begins, we expect the health employers to demonstrate the same good faith that we are demonstrating today by committing to taking down our lines tonight,” Gear told nurses and other health-care workers who joined the picket line at Royal Jubilee.

“We are entering mediation from a position of strength because of your determination. We will negotiate with the same resolve you’ve shown every day, and we will give mediation every opportunity to succeed.” Nurses have cited issues ranging from the 4,500 to 6,000 vacant positions in the province to workplace injuries and violence, the need for competitive wages and a shortage of nurse training seats.

Gear said the union is focused on increasing respect for nurses and strengthening the public health-care system. The BCNU president said if nurses get the contract they want, they will be better able to retain and recruit nurses. “We lose new grads because of the working conditions, because of the violence,” she said.

“We have to address the issues that are making nurses leave.” Tuesday was the third day of pickets by nurses on the Island. They started on Sunday at Victoria General Hospital and expanded to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital on Monday.

On Tuesday, pickets were also up at South Island Surgical Centre. Lynn Bueckert, secretary-business manager of the Hospital Employees’ Union, said the HEU and Health Sciences Association union members are supporting the nurses’ picket line to show solidarity. Allied unions are not crossing the nurses’ picket lines unless they are deemed essential workers.

“Let’s remember, we’re all in this together. It is one fight, and our fight is common,” said Bueckert. Gear acknowledged the stress being experienced by patients who may have tests or elective non-urgent surgeries postponed, especially if they have waited a long time for those appointments.

She said essential-service levels are negotiated between the union and employer, and signed off on by the B.C. Labour Relations Board. But it’s health authorities that make decisions about which procedures are going forward and which ones aren’t, she said. “That’s not the nurses.

That’s not the union. But I do want to recognize the stress. It’s very difficult for patients, and that’s really the last thing we want to happen,” said Gear.

“Ideally we would like a quick resolve — no nurse wants to be doing this. We want to be focused on caring for our patients. “Nurses are lifelines not budget lines.”