'Higher rates of disease and illness' could result from labour dispute
One hundred eighteen public health nurses who work for the Sudbury & District Health Unit could be going on strike as soon as Dec. 7, something which the provincial president of the Ontario Nurses Association said could put the health of local residents at risk.
The registered nurses and nurse practitioners are members of the Ontario Nurses Association Local 2. They have been working without a contract since April 1.
“The public health nurses would not be providing the H1N1 influenza vaccine. They would not be providing any of the other kind of clinics that they do, such as hepatitis vaccine clinics or support for new babies. They also have sexual health clinics and go into schools to educate children on how to lead a healthy life,” said Linda Haslam-Stroud.
“They (public health nurses) are the foundation of health care in Ontario. Public health nurses are there on the front line trying to prevent illness and disease and to promote health so that we can have healthy lives. Without them, you're going to see higher rates of disease and illness.
“Those higher rates of disease and illness could potentially mean higher admissions to an already overloaded hospital system.”
When asked about a possible strike, health unit spokesperson Jamie Lamothe would only say that the health unit had no comment about the situation while talks are underway.
Negotiators for the union and health unit have been through six days of negotiations since that time. Two days of conciliation talks with a representative of the Ministry of Labour were held last week, but they were unsuccessful.
Haslam-Stroud said the union has applied to go into mediation with the Ministry of Labour during the first week of December. If mediation fails, the union could go on strike as soon as December 7, she said.
The nurses are asking for “normative” wage increases and improvements to their benefits, she said. They are also asking for changes to how their work hours are scheduled, Haslam-Stroud said.
“The public health nurses do not want to be on strike. They want to be on the front lines for the public of the Sudbury area,” Haslam-Stroud said. “We're really hoping that the employer steps up to the plate and provides a reasonable offer that the nurses and the employer can live with.”
