Nurses across BC have officially begun targeted job action after the BC Nurses’ Union (BCNU) and the provincial government failed to reach a new collective agreement.
The action officially began on Thursday, July 2nd at 12:01 p.m. following the expiry of the union’s 72-hour strike notice.
Nurses have now started implementing the first phase of what BCNU describes as a broader escalation plan if bargaining does not resume with what union members call a meaningful offer from the BC government.
For now, the union says patient care will remain its priority.
As part of the initial job action, nurses will no longer perform non-nursing duties, allowing them to focus on direct patient care. They will also refuse all non-essential overtime shifts.
BCNU says the measures are intended to allow nurses to focus on the work they were trained to do while contract negotiations continue.
“This is not the outcome nurses wanted,” said BCNU president Adriane Gear.
“Throughout this process, nurses have been clear about what is needed to strengthen the profession and stabilize our health-care system. We have remained ready to bargain in good faith.”
The job action follows the rejection of a tentative agreement reached in May between the Nurses’ Bargaining Association and health employers.
According to BCNU, 67% of members voted against the proposed deal.
Earlier this year, more than 50,000 nurses participated in a province-wide strike vote, with 98.2% of them voting in favour of job action.
The union says members are seeking a collective agreement that includes a meaningful general wage increase as well as measures aimed at improving nurse retention, workplace safety and staffing levels.
BCNU has indicated that further job action could be announced if negotiations do not progress, but says it remains committed to reaching a negotiated agreement.
What does this mean for patients?
At this stage, patients should continue attending scheduled appointments and seeking medical care as needed.
The current job action is limited to nurses declining non-nursing duties and non-essential overtime.
According to BCNU, essential nursing care will continue during this initial phase and no widespread service cancellations have been announced.
The union has said it will provide as much notice as possible should additional job action become necessary.
The Province had not issued a public response to Thursday’s job action at the time of publication. This story will be updated if a statement is released.
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