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Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2015
ontario nurses'
Association to
hold strike vote
ToRonTo — The Ontario
Nurses' Association (ONA)
has reached an impasse with
its employer at 10 community
care access centres across the
province. Following three days
of mediation with a provin-
cially appointed conciliator, the
parties were unable to reach an
agreement.
Strike votes will be held at all 10
bargaining units in the coming
weeks.
Wages remain the primary fo-
cus of the dispute. The ONA is
seeking wage increases in keep-
ing with the salaries it negoti-
ated in other major sectors, in-
cluding hospitals. Additionally,
the union is looking for increas-
es in benefits and premiums.
In a statement, the ONA said
it appears clear the employer
has no intention of bargaining
on salaries.
"We are very concerned that
the employer continues to sin-
gle out and relegate this very
important group of registered
nurses, nurse practitioners,
occupational therapists, phys-
iotherapists, social workers,
registered practical nurses and
other allied health employees
to second-class citizen status,"
ONA president Linda Haslam-
Stroud said.
"Adding insult to injury, these
are the very same employers, in-
cluding their CEOS, who have
granted themselves salary in-
creases that go far beyond any-
thing they have offered to our
union members."
The employer's latest offer
would reportedly see workers
facing a year of salary freezes,
something the union calls unac-
ceptable after years of wage con-
cessions.
"ONA has made it very clear
to the employer that the days
of taking our 'lumps' are long
over," Haslam-Stroud said. "We
are open to returning to the bar-
gaining table at any time, but we
are not prepared to continue to
be stonewalled with the same
pitiful offer that our members
have rejected time and time
again."
n.S. health-
care law stands:
Arbitrator
hALiFAX — An arbitrator has
ruled that Nova Scotia can re-
duce the number of bargaining
units that represent workers in
the health care sector from 50
to four.
But James Dorsey has post-
poned a decision on which union
will represent those workers.
Under legislation passed in
the fall, there will be separate
unions for nurses, health-care
workers, clerical workers and
support staff.
Some of the unions had ar-
gued the proposed structure was
unconstitutional because it de-
nied freedom of association pro-
visions of the charter, but Dorsey
rejected those arguments.
The Health Authorities Act
also merges the number of
health districts from 10 to two
by April 1 and creates an arbitra-
tion process to reduce the num-
ber of bargaining units for about
24,000 health workers from 50 to
four.
Dorsey said he will resume
hearings in February on the re-
maining issue of which union
will represent each of the four
bargaining units.
Hundreds of miners in Kosovo refused to resurface following their Jan. 20 shift in protest against the
government's decision to step back from its pledge to take control of the Trepca mining complex.
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