Conciliated talks begin Monday involving the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) and the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit.
The union represents 63 registered nurses and one nurse practitioner at the health unit.
ONA officials say the nurses are seeking a contract that provides wage increases following 12 years of contracts that have failed to keep up with inflation.
“Our nurses who provide care to numerous communities have been working without a contract since April 1 of this year,” says Erin Ariss, RN and ONA Provincial President. “After three days of talks and five months, the two sides have yet to come to an agreement.”
The ONA says the local nurses’ wages are near the bottom in the province.
“Despite the immense population they care for, their wage increases have ranged from .5 to the 2.25 per cent range for the past dozen years,” says Ariss.
Across Ontario, ONA represents more than 68,000 registered nurses and health-care professionals, as well as 18,000 nursing student affiliates, providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community, clinics and industry.
