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B.C. nurses vote 85% in favour of accepting new contract

This new collective agreement achieves 8 of the 11 priorities HSABC's RPNs set for bargaining.

Vancouver (17 May 2016) — Nurses covered by the Nurses' Bargaining Association (NBA) contract, including the 900 Registered Psychiatric Nurses (RPNs) represented by the Health Sciences Association of B.C. (HSABC/NUPGE), have voted 85 per cent in favour of accepting a new collective agreement.

The new agreement features wage increases for all nurses, some changes to benefits coverage, and a number of contract changes that address staffing issues, education, and violence in the workplace.

Contract highlights

The agreement achieves 8 of the 11 priorities HSABC's RPNs set for bargaining, including

  • addressing the shortcomings of the Pharmacare tie-in which reduced drug coverage for nurses
  • wage increases
  • maintaining benefits
  • recognizing the full scope of practice for RPNs
  • expanding the definition of "family"
  • addressing violence prevention
  • addressing workload through on-call language
  • addressing long-term disability coverage

NUPGE

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 360,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE