BC nurses suspend picketing at hospitals in ‘good faith’ as negotiations progress

Some progress has been made in the BC nurses’ strike action.

As of Monday, July 13th, the BC Nurses Union (BCNU) has confirmed that mediated bargaining between the Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC) and the Nurses’ Bargaining Association (NBA) has officially begun.

BCNU says that as a gesture of good faith, picket lines will be coming down across the province as of Tuesday, July 14th.

Picket lines were just beginning on Vancouver Island, going up at Victoria General Hospital on Sunday, July 12th and at Nanaimo Regional Hospital on Monday, July 13th. Nurses were set to start picketing at Royal Jubilee Hospital and the South Island Surgical Centre on Tuesday, July 14th.

The province-wide ban on non-nursing duties and a restriction on overtime remains in place while the discussions are underway.

The union said that their decision to take down picket lines shows a commitment to giving the mediation process the opportunity to succeed while continuing its fight for meaningful change.

“We are entering mediation with cautious optimism,” said BCNU president Adriane Gear.

“Our bargaining committee is dedicated to engaging in a productive process and working toward an agreement that addresses the issues nurses have been raising for months: safe staffing, safer workplaces, manageable workloads and fair compensation”

Gear went on to say that while the union feels there is significant work ahead of them, they believe mediation offers an opportunity to move negotiations forward.

These decisions mark tangible progress in negotiations between the two parties since Vince Ready and Amanda Rogers were appointed as special mediators by Minister of Labour Jennifer Whiteside last week.

For now, escalation in the BCNU job action seems to have subsided. In the coming days, the public should know more about how the negotiations go.