Nurses working at Manitoba's largest hospital have voted against ratifying a new interim agreement.
The Manitoba Nursing Union announced Friday that its members in five of its six health regions will receive interim wage increases that include a 2.5 per cent general wage increase starting in April, a 2.75 per cent increase until 2025 and a 3 per cent increase until 2025. announced that they had voted in favor of the agreement. 2 years.
The union recommended that its members ratify the agreement.
The outlier was Shared Health, where almost 57 percent of members voted to reject the proposal.
“We have already reached out to the employer and asked them to come back to the bargaining table to see how this issue can be resolved,” Manitoba Nursing Union President Darlene Jackson said. He said a meeting has not yet been set.
Manitoba nurses have not had a contract since April.
If the bargaining committee and Shared Health cannot reach an agreement, Jackson said they will move forward with a strike vote and potential employment action.
Shared Health says it employs about 4,100 nurses at the Health Sciences Centre, Selkirk Mental Health Centre and other facilities and services across the province.
A spokesperson told CTV News Winnipeg they are actively working with the union to determine next steps.
“Note that health care is an essential service and employment measures will only be taken after successful negotiation of an essential services agreement to ensure the availability of health services even in the event of a work stoppage; is important,” the spokesperson said. Email.
Meanwhile, Jackson said only Shared Health members voted to reject the proposal, but the votes were very close in many other health regions.
“Clearly, nurses in this province are sending a message to the government that health care is not working,” she said.
“We are still seeing a lot of overtime, both mandated and voluntary. We are seeing more use of temporary nurses than we have probably ever seen in this state, and nurses are still working in short supply. Nurses are still dealing with unsustainable workloads.”
The union shared a breakdown of the vote by health officials in an email to CTV News Winnipeg.
