Manitoba Nurses' union to vote on strike

Nurses Activism

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Specializes in Trauma acute surgery, surgical ICU, PACU.

winnipeg

the manitoba nurses' union is asking its 11,000 members to take a strike vote, even though the union isn't scheduled to continue contract negotiations until march 25.

union president maureen hancharyk says the vote will be held march 18.

"we do want to provide essential services - we are an essential service, so we're looking at all kinds of things," she says.

"if this isn't successfully concluded by march 31, we're looking at perhaps then having an overtime ban. we're looking at rotating strikes. but you know, we're also telling our members, 'if you vote yes [in the strike vote], this could mean that we're all out on the sidewalk on april 1.'"

the nurses' contract expires at the end of march.

the nurses are asking for a 29 per cent wage increase over two years. the province is offering 15 per cent over three years.

hancharyk says the province's offer will worsen the nursing shortage, because it means the wages of manitoba nurses will be the lowest in the country at the end of the three-year term.

cbc news story

i don't know what to think. the union isn't able to or effective at dealing with my concerns - for me, it isn't about money, and i don't think paying us more will fix much of anything. all the press and the union newsletters are about $$$ only. i participated in a phone survey where the person asked me the same question repeatedly, phrasing it differently, until i finally said wages were a top concern for me in negotiations. that felt like union bullying a bit. :( i think i make a fair wage. but i am also planning to leave the province soon, and i do want to help my co-workers get they best contract they can. i hope we don't have to strike to do it....

What are the wages in Man?

This site has the approximate salaries for unionized nurses across Canada (some salaries increased since this site was posted) http://www.nursesunions.ca/cb/index.shtml

Specializes in Trauma acute surgery, surgical ICU, PACU.

That site is accurate as far as manitoba goes, until we get a new contract. The general sentiment is that "we" will overwhelmingly vote to reject the lastest offer from gvmt (16% increase over three years), and will vote to strike.

I really wonder... Picking your battles is important. One of the negative things people have to say about unions is how petty and also how controlling and manipulative they can be - worse to get that stuff from management AND from your representative union.

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