On Friday, hundreds of nurses and healthcare supporters from British Columbia demonstrated in downtown Vancouver.
According to union leaders, their main concerns are deteriorating working conditions and personnel shortages, which have only gotten worse throughout the pandemic.
According to reports, certain institutions are between 50% and 70% understaffed, according to Aman Grewal, president of the BC Nurses’ Union.
“Nurses are required to put in extra hours. Some of them must work 24-hour shifts by law.
Nobody in another occupation is required to work 24-hour shifts.
The annual conference of the BC Nurses’ Union is coming to an end. Currently without a contract, nurses are preparing for talks with the government. The other significant public sector union currently securing agreements precedes this.
The teachers pact, which has not yet been signed, includes wage grid hikes that would enhance salaries by $6,000 to $8,500 per year as well as increments of up to 13% over three years.
According to Grewal, “(The teachers pact) has established the benchmark, where we can start from and see where we can go from that.
Health ministers from all throughout the nation will be in Vancouver beginning the following week.
Concerns about human resources are on the agenda as every province struggles to locate people across the health care industry, not just nurses.
The president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Union, Linda Silas, stated that in order to attract and keep staff, employers in this province must strive to be the best.
Burnout is causing nurses to leave the profession.
The health ministers’ main concern is the training of new nurses, which is a challenge for the provinces given their expanding populations.
“The purpose here is to work together, across the country, to improve access for everyone to qualified health professionals,” said Adrian Dix, B. C. ’s health minister.
Officials in British Columbia made a commitment to refrain from deliberately luring away medical personnel from other provinces.
Numerous B.C. nurses hold rally in downtown Vancouver ahead of contract negotiations
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