A pair of unions reiterated poll numbers are showing some 60 per cent of registered practical nurses (RPN) in Ontario are considering leaving their jobs.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and SEIU Healthcare, who combined represent more than 20,000 nurses across the province, shared that message Friday out front of St. Joe’s Hospital’s Charlton campus in Hamilton, Ont.
They cited data from a late April IPSOs poll requisitioned by the alliance in advance of national nursing week.
CUPE’s Sharon Richer suggested that 60 per cent of 600 RPNs at St Joe’s, means roughly 360 nurses might be considering a departure.
It’s a number she says the hospital wouldn’t be able to “cope with.”
“When we asked these RPNs, why are you considering leaving? Four in 10 of them (said) it’s because the pay does not match the high workload caused by short staffing,” she said.
SEIU Nursing Division President and RPN Jackie Walker accused Ontario hospitals of “exploiting registered practical nurses to no end.”
“They know that registered practical nurses can’t take breaks,” she claimed.
“They come early to work, start their work early so they don’t fall behind, and they know that they stay late, and they let this happen every single day.”
Release of the poll comes as St. Joseph’s Healthcare reportedly had been investigating allegations staffers were considering refusing overtime and making coordinated sick calls.
Richer wouldn’t address the alleged “active investigation” specifically, but did say her organization hears from St. Joe’s nurses “daily” about working long hours to support colleagues they don’t want to abandon.
“They really love their colleagues and they don’t want them to work short,” said Richer.
“It comes to a point, though, in one person’s breaking point, they’re not able to do it.”
Global News reached out to St. Joe’s and queried a spokesperson on the alleged “unlawful strike actions” by staff through coordinated “unit-wide sick calls and refusing to take overtime.”
In an email, Maria Hayes from the hospital public affairs department wouldn’t address the matter directly or confirm an investigation, but did insist St. Joe’s was “deeply committed to the wellness of employees” after the “struggles and challenges” of the pandemic.
In a statement, the hospital network said it has taken action in “three priority areas” to address pressures on workers — wellness, recruitment and managing capacity.
They claim 831 nursing positions have been hired at the network over the past year with just 255 full-time nursing positions currently open.
“Importantly, St. Joe’s has decreased the number of vacancies and increased the retention in nursing — more nurses are joining St. Joe’s and more nurses are choosing to stay,” the statement said.
“St. Joe’s current vacancy rate for Registered Nurses is 14.5 per cent, slightly lower than the 15.5 per cent provincial mean for Ontario hospitals, reported by the Ontario Hospital Association.”
The network also said overtime hours have been on a downward trend for the past six months, but admitted it “continues to be a concern.”
“Overtime hours represent about seven per cent of total hours worked by RPN’s today, down from 9.4 per cent in the summer of 2022,” St. Joe’s said.
“We are grateful to our nurses who have stepped up over and over again to fill in where there are gaps in staffing.”
Meanwhile, the Ontario Nurses Association (ONA), representing some 70,000 members, also wouldn’t comment on the job actions members might be considering.
The ONA told Global News in an email they urge “caution about drawing conclusions” around allegations tied to job action with an “investigation ongoing.”
“We have been in touch with our members at St. Joseph’s to provide information and support about the ways ONA is addressing poor working conditions under its collective agreement and within the parameters of the law,” the agency said.
CUPE and SEIU are pushing for a wage increase of at least $35 an hour as part of a potential solution to current pressures.
The outlets say their poll pointed to that number as a figure that would make RPNs reconsider leaving.
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