CP NewsAlert: B.C. nurses issue 72-hour strike notice after rejecting contract deal

BURNABY — The British Columbia Nurses Union has issued a 72-hour strike notice just weeks after its members voted to reject a tentative contract offer.

The union represents 60,000 nurses and says in a statement that the action signals growing frustration by its members with the pressures facing their profession and the health-care system.

The union says the labour action follows action in which 50,850 nurses participated in a province-wide strike vote from May 8-11, with members voting 98.2 percent in favour of job action. BCNU suggests this pressure led to a tentative agreement reached May 22, which was rejected by 67 percent of members, signalling a growing belief among nurses that the status quo is no longer sustainable.

“This is fundamentally a conversation about priorities,” says BCNU President Adriane Gear. “Nurses want to know why the health authorities continue to spend millions of dollars on costly short-term staffing solutions, while the nurses who are here for the long-term struggling with workload pressures, unsafe working conditions and staffing shortages are being told the cupboards are empty.”