Government and nurses should go to binding
arbitration
Both government and nurses have made significant
compromises throughout negotiations and the time has come to settle the
dispute through binding arbitration, says Opposition Leader Yvonne Jones.
“In a few weeks, the people of
Newfoundland
and
Labrador
could be facing a nursing strike that is completely avoidable,” said Ms.
Jones. “Nurses have already agreed to government’s wage proposal, but
are frustrated with two clauses, namely extended earnings loss benefits
and market adjustment clauses. Neither of these clauses save government
money and are simply policy decisions. Nurses have agreed to go to binding
arbitration on these clauses and government should agree to such
action.”
Jones says she understands the frustration of nurses
with the two clauses proposed by government. The proposed changes to the
extended earnings loss benefit will remove the protection injured workers
have to return to a job should their health or injury improve. The market
adjustment clause could lead to nurses earning different wages for the
same work. These salary decisions would be at the discretion of government
and could damage other nursing retention initiatives.
“Both sides have come a long way over the past
several months in negotiating a collective agreement and the people of the
province would certainly like this situation resolved without any further
impact on health care delivery. For the benefit of patients, I encourage
government to use better judgment and allow these two contentious clauses
to go to binding arbitration and allow due process to take its course.”
