B.C. nurses get 5.5 per cent over 5-year deal

VICTORIA – The British Columbia Nurses Union has voted to ratify a five-year contact that gives 40,000 members a 5.5-per-cent wage increase.

Health Minister Terry Lake said Wednesday the deal includes government commitments to contribute $4 million to programs targeting workplace violence and rural recruitment of nurses.

The agreement also include a pledge by the Health Ministry to improve nurses’ education and provide training for operating room procedures and community care settings.

“We know we need to shift health into communities more and more and reduce our reliance on the acute-care system,” Lake said. “We will need nurses to be our partners in that they work with patients, particularly seniors’ populations, and those suffering from health and substance use issues.”

He said the government and the union will each contribute $2 million to fund violence prevention measures that include training and upgrading communications and distress systems at health facilities.

Nurses’ union president Gayle Duteil says the deal improves conditions for nurses and patients, which makes it easier to deliver safe care. It also gives nurses a stronger voice to shape provincial health care policy, she said.

Nurses are expected to play significant roles in the workings of the ministry’s Nursing Policy Secretariat, which aims to review opportunities to expand nursing practices in B.C.

Lake said including nurses in health care initiatives pays dividends at their workplaces in terms of job satisfaction.

“For us, it’s important that they be in an environment where they have a positive outlook where they feel valued and that they have a say actually in health care policy.”

Lake said the agreement was reached under a government mandate that includes provisions for extra wage increases if B.C.’s economy exceeds annual forecasts.

The province’s unionized government workers received a small pay increase last year after Statistics Canada reported B.C.’s economy grew by 3.2 per cent in 2014, exceeding independent projections of 2.3 per cent.