B.C. nurses begin targeted strike action with overtime ban
More than 60,000 nurses across the province started job action Thursday after rejecting a tentative agreement that offered a 12% wage increase over four years.
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B.C. nurses began targeted strike action Thursday with a ban on non-essential overtime and a refusal to perform non-nursing duties, after a 72-hour strike notice expired this week.
The job action started at 12:01 p.m. Thursday, July 2 and marks the first phase of a broader escalation plan the B.C. Nurses' Union expects to roll out if bargaining does not resume. The union represents more than 60,000 nurses in hospitals, long-term care, community and public health, and other settings across the province.
The strike comes after 67 per cent of members voted to reject a tentative agreement reached in May. That deal offered a 12 per cent wage increase over four years and additional funding to improve minimum nurse-to-patient ratios, but members felt it still fell short of a general wage increase.
Union president Adriane Gear said nurses have been clear about what is needed to strengthen the profession and stabilize the health-care system. "We have remained ready to bargain in good faith, but the government has not responded with the urgency this moment demands," she said in a statement.
Nurses do not want to disrupt patient care, the union emphasized. The limited strike action is intended to prioritize patient care "while sending a clear message to government," Gear added.
