Published by the St. Catharines Standard
Printed on January 13, 2010
Written by Grant LaFleche
URL: http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2258831

Nurses represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 1 Canada tried to exert pressure on their stalled contract negotiations with a small rally outside a Niagara Health System building in St. Catharines Tuesday.

The union representing some 17,000 hospital workers in Ontario, including registered practical nurses, has been without a contract since December. Talks with the Ontario Hospital Association, the body that negotiates on behalf of Ontario hospitals including the NHS, have broken down.

Carol McDowell, SEIU vice-president with the union, said the next step is binding arbitration, something the SEIU wants to avoid.

"It's a lengthy and expensive process and the trouble with arbitration is that they look at other contracts and tend to create copycat settlements," said McDowell who was in St. Catharines with about two dozen union members and supporters at the NHS Ontario Street building. "Our issues, the issues of RPNs, are not the issues of other hospital unions."

The small knot of people waved SEIU flags and waved at motorists who honked their horns. McDowell said similar rallies are scheduled for cities around the province, with the ultimate aim of getting the OHA to return to the bargaining table instead of going to arbitration.

"We are hoping the NHS leadership will hear us and bring our issues to the OHA, because I think that many of their peers in the OHA do not know the issues."

She said contract talks are stalled over the language for job postings and training.

"These are non-monetary issues. So we are surprised it has reached this point," said McDowell, and RPN who works with the NHS.

NHS spokeswoman Caroline Bourque-Wiley said the NHS defers to the OHA when it comes to contract talks.

"The Ontario Hospital Association handles negotiations for the NHS and other hospitals in Ontario as part of the central bargaining process. These negotiations would include wages and benefits, and contract language regarding job posting, security and other key issues, she said.

"Health care is important to everyone, and we fully understand and appreciate that people have a right to express themselves publicly. As long as the protesters do not block access for our patients and families and our doctors and staff , we respect their right to express their views publicly."