Contract talks break down between Ontario nurses, hospitals: Nurses’ union

The Ontario Nurses Association (ONA) says contract talks with the Ontario Hospital Association have broken down.

The two sides will now head to arbitration in early May.

“This round of negotiations has been incredibly difficult and frustrating,” says ONA Interim Provincial President Bernie Robinson. “ONA’s elected bargaining team went into talks with a strong and clear set of priorities that come from our front lines, and they have been met with an extremely disappointing and disrespectful response from the employers.”

“Nurses are fed up with this government and employers expressing appreciation for the work we do, while simultaneously failing to provide working conditions that that truly show the value of what we do each day.”

Robinson added the union would have preferred to reach a negotiated contract.

The nurses’ union and the hospitals began mediation on Wednesday after negotiations started early this year. The ONA represents nearly 70,000 registered nurses and health-care professionals who provide care in Ontario hospitals, as well as more than 18,000 nursing student affiliates.

Nurses and other healthcare workers held a large rally and protest in downtown Toronto on Thursday, demanding better staffing and higher wages.

This will be the first contract for the nurses since being subject for three years to a wage restraint law known as Bill 124, which capped increases at one per cent a year.

An Ontario court found Bill 124 unconstitutional late last year, but the government has filed a notice of intent to appeal.

With files from The Canadian Press