Bargaining breaks down for Ontario nurses

ONA says concessions would impede ability to provide quality patient care

Bargaining breaks down for Ontario nurses
ONA is the union representing 65,000 registered nurses and health-care professionals in Ontario, as well as more than 16,000 nursing student affiliates providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community, clinics and industry. SHUTTERSTOCK

After 13 days at the bargaining table, contract talks between the Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA) and the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) broke down on Feb. 3.

"Unfortunately, 10 days of talks and three days of mediation have resulted in little meaningful progress in reaching a new contract for Ontario's highly skilled and educated registered nurses and health-care professionals," said Vicki McKenna, ONA president. "The concessions being demanded by the OHA team show that these employers are unwilling to acknowledge the reality of the shortage of registered nurses and how it diminishes the ability of front-line registered nurses (RNs) to deliver quality patient care."

Over the past decade, Ontario hospitals have cut thousands of RNs from the front lines. Ontario now has the worst RN-to-population ratio of any province in the country. Multiple studies have found that as RNs are required to care for more patients, patients are at increased risk of suffering complications such as pneumonia, sepsis, infection, hospital readmission and even death, said the union.

ONA is the union representing 65,000 registered nurses and health-care professionals in Ontario, as well as more than 16,000 nursing student affiliates providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community, clinics and industry.

 

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