Time for government to stop bullying and start fresh
During the presentation of the budget, Minister
Jerome Kennedy went “off-script” in setting new pre-conditions and
publicly setting negotiation terms for nurses. Today in the House of
Assembly Opposition presented a motion, asking that they be removed.
Opposition Leader Yvonne Jones is disappointed that
government would not support a private member’s motion requesting that
they remove all preconditions of the contract before resuming negotiations
with nurses in an effort to reach an agreement.
“If this government was truly committed to
effectively dealing with the issues facing nurses in our province today,
they would show them just how committed they are to resolving these issues
by resuming negotiations tomorrow with a clean slate,” says Ms. Jones.
Jones noted that the public domain is not the place
to carry out collective bargaining, although Premier Williams and the
Minister of Finance have been using such tactics since the beginning of
negotiations with nurses.
“Nurses of our province do not deserve to be bullied.
They are the cornerstone of our health care system and deserve
respect and recognition for the work they do.
Our province has a nursing shortage, an aging nursing workforce,
and we are experiencing chronic recruitment and retention issues.
Instead of dealing with these issues, government has tried to sway
public perception and intimidate the nurses into signing a deal.
This is not good faith bargaining.
It’s time for this government to commit to the process and focus
on solutions. Honour your
commitment of February 12, 2009 and go to the bargaining table with a
clean slate. Why break your word to nurses? The people of the province are
counting on their government to get a deal,” says Jones.
