Nurses’ Union Approves Agreement with Province

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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The President of Treasury Board, Charlene Johnson, announced in a wisely written press release this afternoon that “I am very pleased to hear that the province’s nurses have ratified the collective agreement with a 97 per cent approval rate. This was a successful collective bargaining process, in which the negotiating teams co-operated to reach a good deal for these valued public employees.”

According to Johnson, the agreement adopted the same principle as in other successfully negotiated agreements with other public sector unions, including a five per cent salary increase over the term of the agreement. Furthermore, the agreement stated that all employees will receive a one-time pro-rated payment of $1,400. The provincial government of Newfoundland and Labrador has so far successfully negotiated collective agreements with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Association, the Newfoundland Association of Public and Private Employees, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, and the Association of Allied Health Professionals. Hence overall, the collective agreements represent approximately 27,700 public employees.

The NLNU represents 5,700 registered nurses throughout the province. It formally approved the provincial collective agreement on Friday morning with an overwhelming support of 97 per cent. The unions president, Debbie Forward, alleged that “after a long negotiations process, we are pleased to have established a collective agreement that registered nurses support.” It was added that “our negotiations team worked hard to achieve the best agreement possible in a challenging negotiations climate. The result was an agreement that acknowledges the priorities of Registered Nurses and provides new supports in areas of RN education and leadership.”