By Janet Silver/iPolitics
Nurses were out protesting in Ottawa on Friday, demanding that Ontario Premier Doug Ford repeal Bill 124, the Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act.
Bill 124 was introduced by the Ford government two years ago to “ensure that increases in public-sector compensation reflect the fiscal situation of the province.”
The Ontario Nurses Association (ONA) says nurses are the ones paying the price for the bill, since it's suppressed their wages for three years. Add to that the stress of the pandemic causing more nurses to leave the profession, the job is even harder for those who've stayed.
“This (bill) was put in place to secure the public domain and save money, (but) it’s doing so on the backs of nurses,” said Angela Preocanin, the ONA's vice-president.
“We had a nursing shortage for many years. The pandemic exacerbated that shortage, (and, with rising inflation), many nurses are struggling.”
The bill caps wage increases at one per cent per year, and nurses have been regularly denied vacations, especially since the pandemic began in March 2020, Preocanin said.
The ONA represents more than 68,000 registered nurses and health professionals across the province, plus 18,000 nursing students.
About 18,000 jobs are vacant in Ontario, and some of the larger hospitals are short an average of 450 staff, Preocanin said. According to a September report from Statistics Canada, job vacancies for registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses increased by 85.8 per cent over two years, equivalent to 10,400 vacancies across the country.
Given the national shortage, some nurses are eyeing other provinces for better wages and benefits.
In August, more than 300 Ontario doctors signed an open letter to the premier, demanding his government repeal Bill 124 and increase nurses' pay. The letter said the bill limited their ability to bargain collectively, because, as essential workers, nurses aren't allowed to strike.
“Nurses would like to be respected for the work they do," Preocanin said. “We are called heroes, and Ford says he loves nurses, (but) this legislation makes it really hard.
"There's an election coming (next June), and we'll make it known we won’t stand for this.”
Photo courtesy: Karina Saavedra, RN, Ontario Nurses' Association

Nurses push back against Bill 124 in protest

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