B.C.’s nurses hit the picket lines at Vancouver General Hospital shortly after dawn on Tuesday, which is the first time they’ve done so in the province since 1989.
“It’s historic; certainly there is a lot of jubilation. I think nurses are feeling very inspired by the support but, at the same time, this is a solemn day, that nurses have to be on the picket line instead of at a bedside with a patient,” Adriane Gear, president of the BC Nurses’ Union, said at a rally.
The BC Nurses’ Union began job action last Thursday after two-thirds voted to reject a deal with the B.C. Health Employers Association.
The deal included a 12-per cent wage increase over four years, improved benefits, additional funding for minimum nurse-to-patient ratios and improved violence prevention measures.
But experts say the B.C. government finds itself in a difficult spot.
“That’s the real constraint on the government,” Hamish Telford, a political science professor at the University of the Fraser Valley, said.
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“I’m sure they’d love to give nurses a better deal, but if they do, they have to give everyone the same deal, at least on wages, and the money just isn’t there.”
Nurses now plan to expand picket lines, including to Surrey Memorial Hospital on Thursday, due to what they say is employer intimidation
“Nurses have come forward to say they are being threatened with discipline, warned their professional licences could be at risk and pressured to perform non-nursing duties or work unauthorized overtime despite the union’s lawful job action directives,” the union said in a release on Tuesday morning.
The Hospital Employers Association says maintaining safe patient care is key and denies the accusation.
“Employers are not directing employees to perform work outside their role, qualifications, professional scope, or collective agreement obligations,” the organization states.
“Health care is in crisis; nurses have been using their voice, they’ve been raising concerns for years and nobody is listening, and now the nurses of B.C. are on a picket line. Like, what’s it going to take to wake up, people,” Gear said at the rally.
Contract talks between the two sides have resumed.
Screw you Global. I submit a comment about what type of patient seems to be plugging up our health system and creating violence for our nurses and you delete it???. If i identify as a …(pick one) …will you allow me to state my opinions?.
Hey I’m on full pay long term disability I’ve received it for years long may it last
“Up the union”
I complain that nurses are lazy and then 5 minutes later I poop my pants. Are any nurses available to help me right now? Please 🙏
These lazy nurses are the ones complaining on here real nurses just get on with doing their job, yes pay them more but weed out the bad ones not sure why they put up with the continuous scamming of long term disability and sickness get rid of that waste and the health authorities could afford to give you a 5% wage increase every year.
Give the nurses what they deserve!!
The way this article is written is incredibly misleading.
A 12% wage increase over four years works out to roughly 3% per year. That’s hardly the significant raise the headline suggests—it’s essentially about $1.50 more per hour each year for many nurses, which doesn’t come close to keeping pace with the rising cost of living.
The article also describes the benefits as “improved,” but that’s not an accurate representation. The employer didn’t increase the overall value of our benefits—they reallocated them. Some previously capped benefits were reduced so they could increase coverage in other areas, like orthodontics and optometry. Calling that an “improvement” is misleading. A more accurate description would be a change in benefits.
What frustrates me most though, is the way the article celebrates “additional funding for minimum nurse-to-patient ratios” and “improved violence prevention measures.” These aren’t extraordinary gains or generous concessions—they’re fundamental employer responsibilities. Safe staffing and protecting healthcare workers from workplace violence should already be standard, not framed as impressive contract wins. Presenting them as major achievements only distracts from the fact that nurses have had to bargain for what should be the bare minimum.
Don’t listen to the union bots in these comments. The information in this article is correct.
It’s sad that the nurses don’t see a 12% raise as enough money (on average an extra $10,500 a year). It’s pure greed, all while patients suffer.
They are cancelling surgeries and specialist appointments because of this strike, some that people have waited years for. Nurses should be ashamed of themselves.
Majority of the nurses are lazy. The call desk and others are coloured and just doing nothing, summon a nurse time passes while they saunter over check a couple wires walk back and play with their cell phones, meanwhile they can’t realize the patient is dieing but sedate them without actually knowing what is happening. Then the person passes, and you ask for the ID, they say we don’t have their ID well were is it, oh we don’t know just sign here. Meanwhile, it’s likely passed on to a gang to use.
Lol some miserable loser sitting around on his computer jerking off to porn is calling nurses lazy. Damn that’s hilarious 😂
Majority of the nurses are lazy. Maybe if you get off your cell phones and actually go and check on the patients who’s call bell has been ringing for 1/2 hr. Do you even go and wash patients if they haven’t showered in a few days, who can’t do it themselves, no family members have to do that! Do you even check to see if a patient has even eaten the food that was delivered to them if they are unable to feed themselves NO family member has to feed them. Nurses want to get paid double time for the whole shift if they come on over time for what so they can sit on their assess on tax payers dollars! Stop playing the victims and do your job!
I have been a loyal viewer of Global News for a very long time and it saddens me on how poorly this was reported and not fact checked. Have you even attempted to actually speak to the nurses to get the truth? You have definitely lost my respect and viewership, you need to step up and get the story straight!
Shame on you Global News, incredibly biased reporting to make nurses look like they are asking for too much. It is evident that the writer did not do their research regarding our contract that was offered.
They restructured our benefits into a trust with no sustainable plan. That is not “improved”.
I also did not see an improvement for violence prevention at all. Theres no offer of hazard pay.
Incorrect information, reported multiple days
This information is completely incorrect regarding improved benefits. Our contract is supposed to be a 3 year term not 4. The employer has no language in the contract if they do not meet patient care ratios.
Global news please stop reporting biased news. They didn’t improve the nurses benefits. They made major cuts on some areas to put on other areas then tried to push it to a trust fund. Also govt is paying nurses half the retro while the nurses did not ask to go last in their bargaining.
Global news please stop reporting biased news. They didn’t improve the nurses benefits. There made major cuts on some areas to put on other areas then tried to push it to a trust fund. Also govt paying nurses half the retro while the nurses did not ask to go last in their bargaining.
Report an error: The article states that the rejected agreement “included improved benefits,” but this omits a key point that many BCNU members considered central to their vote. The proposal also included a significant restructuring of the benefits plan by moving it to a trust model. Many nurses did not reject improved benefits; they rejected the overall package, including the proposed benefits restructuring. Presenting only the “improved benefits” aspect creates an incomplete and potentially misleading impression of why members voted against the agreement. Please revise the article to provide this important context.
False information about offer – please check with BCNU to provide factual information about benefits
Funny how all these lazy union employees start to react when their called out about there members abusing disability & sickness benefits .
They restructured our benefits into a trust with no sustainable plan. That is not “improved”.
There is no way to guarantee ratios without brining in more nurses through education. Why does my local college have 60 people on the wait list for nursing? More money for education and then actually fund positions.
I did not see an improvement for violence prevention at all. Theres no offer of hazard pay.
Auxiliary staff in our hospital since the nurses staff have stopped NON NURSING duties have increased. On the unit since job action there is an extra housekeeper, an extra care aide, extended hours for unit clerk unit midnight and pharmacy until 9pm. In addition to management actually being present on the unit. This is just to cover baseline tasks that actually belong to other disciplines and just fall on the nurses shoulders. Why is this not being reported because its A HUGE PROBLEM in our healthcare system.
A new nursing contract doesn’t fix the breakdown of our system that is falling on backs of nurses. Keep the Auxiliary staff in place post job action and you may seem some pressure relived off nurses.
typical annual full-time salary of $80,000 to $112,000, that’s a lot coming out of taxes from an extremely weak economy government loves fat lazy whinny union folk
I prefer to get my news from TruthSocial where the news is fabricated to suit me and my delusional conspiracy theories
I keep saying that I want Canada to privatize healthcare but the truth is I’m a crippled old man with mental issues and I leech off Canada’s public healthcare system on a daily basis. I’m actually on free meds right now. Thanks Canada!
This is misinformation. The globe needs to check their sources and revise what was actually in the proposal. Fact checking what nurses are truly striking for.
Anyone that wants Alberta to separate from Canada is a traiter to Canada and should be kicked out of the country ASAP
It’s too bad Alberta will never separate from Canada. Anyone that thinks it will is a f**king idiot
GIVE THESE NURSES WHAT THEY F/ I NG DESERVE, EBY !!! U F/ K A S S HOLE !!! U DON’T HAVE TOP WORRY OF COURSE. U AND YOUR FAMILY GET IMMEDIATE CARE
Time to privatize our Healthcare system no slackers in the private sector work or don’t get paid. You want more wages that’s ok with me but only for the dedicated employes not the Healthcare care staff who are on full pay long term disability for YEARS sorry no no pay for you it’s that simple.
Maybe we can ask Ukraine for some of our billions of tax payer dollars back so we can pay Canadians who deserve it. its not that difficult but to no surprise our liberal “government” wont be doing that
Global B.C. always try to make the NDP look good.
Shame on you Global News, incredibly biased reporting, and to make nurses look like they are asking too much. It is evident that the writer did not do their research regarding our contract that was offered.
This article says “improved benefits” were offered to the nursing union. This is not true – the employer did NOT put in writing that our benefits will remain employer paid. It was left ambiguous hence why many nurses voted no
this is incorrect information, there is not improved benefits. please fix your news.
This article has misrepresented the facts in a way that creates bias against Nurses. Nurses did not turn down a deal for funding to improve patient ratios. That was voted in years ago and just look at how much OT was requested when jobs action came in to staff to basic levels. 30000 hours requested over 3 days. We turned down a contact that was smoke and mirrors! Much like this reporting.
This is such a joke and such biased reporting, why don’t you report accurately instead of blatantly supporting the governments lies? The employers told the nurses that they would restructure their benefits and cut off all funding and contributions by 2030. Who says yes to that? So unbelievably disappointed in the lying news.
If you don’t work in health care, you don’t really know the unsafe conditions nurses….and subsequently, the public are being placed in. Don’t comment if you don’t know.
I’m not sure who gave Global the information that “improved benefits” was part of the proposed contract. 67% of nurses certainly didn’t think it was improved. The benefits package in the proposed contract was completely restructured and included removing 100% employee paid premiums as well as vague language. Nurses have lost benefits and more due to vague language in the past several contracts and we have had enough. It’s time for the government to consider nurses and healthcare as a priority.
Its the violence that is the major issue. Why isnt there a study on what is the main genre of most patients that commit these acts and take up so much of our health cares time and money. Cant blame the nurses who are tired of stepping over druggies or seeing crack being smoked in the hospital rooms.
This is not an accurate or fair picture of why nurses are striking. You are perpetuating false claims about the tentative agreement. Please do your research and report unbiased data
For those who are complaining that nurses are greedy. Please read the proposed agreement completely. Nurses are not unreasonable, and certainly did not want to strike. This is incredibly biased reporting.
My wife’s surgery was cancelled.
So I’m not sure how they can claim that essential services are not being affected.
Hi. Global news is reporting that BCNU nurses turned down a contract that included an improvement to benefits. This is false. The contract proposed a complete restructuring of benefits from employer paid to a trust model that would also pay out long term disability claims. Adequate information on future financial feasibility of the trust was not provided, nor were the details explored about the consequences of the trust having a poor ROI.
The nurses picketing probably called in sick to give their cohorts a day of double+time….and will have the ‘favour’ returned, upping the hourly cost for nurses to a point that the taxpayer can ill afford!!!
I understand the environment the nurses are in… yes, secure and make a safe place for them to work. BUT, increased wages??!!… people don’t understand how much they get per hour already and ALL the premiums when the unit is understaffed. Look INTO it!
The truth is I need a nurse to change my diaper 5 times a day
Also I’m an old man with dementia
These are the same people that voted for Eby to give free drugs to all who asked, and now they’re concerned about the violence that policy has created. Get back to work!
Get all the ,nurses back to work who are on fake disability claims some nurses have been claiming for years. Then there is plenty of extra budget to pay the genuine hard working nurses. Weed the bad ones out !!!
@ Anonymous
If only half of the admin workers are unui on that’s good news
Means the other half can be laid off quickly
These media outlet forget to post how much raise these nurses are asking it is way beyond 10% plus check when they last received the raised you will be surprised it was not too long ago. Oh did I say how much sick time they use up which is another reason why it is always understaffed. You give them a raise then other unions will follow the same specially BCTF …ah well same old story of BC
It will be nice when Alberta separates, Alberta will have enough money to pay our nurses and teachers wages they deserve instead of being constrained by Albertans sending most of their taxes to Ottawa.
It was reported today that the nurses are doing non-essential nursing duties. That is incorrect. The nurses are refusing to perform non-nursing duties, such as portering, physiotherapy, dietary, unit clerk, just to name a few.
At no time has anyone in the media reported that every 16 hours a nurse is a victim of violence.
Let’s not forget that the non-essential health care workers can’t cross the picket lines and therefore don’t get paid. They’re paying the price financially while the nurses still go to work.
@ Hummingbird and more than half of those Admin are union!!
In BC we have 15000 doctors and nurses and 50000 admin workers in our 5 different health authorities combined
What’s wrong with this picture?
After years of punting these issues down the road politically, the days of reckoning have come, inevitably. Had at least incremental solutions been implemented, politician after politician could have taken the accolades. Alas, here we all are, once more watching a political mess unfold at the cost of our medical personnel.
Makes me wonder if there’s an issue with air quality in Parliament. Low oxygen ? High carbon dioxide ? Both ?
“ being threatened with discipline, warned their professional licences could be at risk”
Yeah right! A pro-labour, human rights leader led govt if threatening you.
Yup I am calling that out?!?
What is the proof of that?
Maybe actually get someone to out their name behind that!
Why does Global continue to quote Hamish Telford who is clearly out to lunch on this issue? It’s not about money. Violence in the workplace, abuse, workload, staffing.
Address these issues and get the deal done!