Like their colleagues picketing in other parts of the province, several nurses and healthcare professionals gathered in front of Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital in freezing temperatures on Thursday afternoon. They took to the streets, demanding higher wages, improved working conditions and better staffing.
About 40 Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) members were joined by their labour partners and community members at Hospital Gate “to demand a better contract from the Ontario Hospital Association & the Ford government.
In the all-out picket, ONA members were joined by their allies, such Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Ontario Health Coalition and the Ontario Federation of Labour. Sympathetic drivers honked to cheer the protestors.
"I want my employer and Premier Ford to get a better contract. We need better staffing, better working conditions and better pay to offer better care," said Laurie Rogers, the local union coordinator and bargaining unit President of ONA.
Bill 124, passed in 2019, limits wage increases to a maximum of one per cent of total compensation for each of three years.
"Without proper wage increase since 2010, we get over $10,000 less compared to other individuals similar to us," Rogers added. Rogers also brought coffee, hot chocolate and hand warmers for the protestors to survive the cold during the three-hour protest, starting at noon today.
According to ONA, the Bill "negatively impacted registered nurses, nurse practitioners, healthcare professionals and other public-sector workers. Our invaluable work has never been more apparent than during the pandemic and ongoing healthcare staffing crisis."
The association represents more than 68,000 nurses and healthcare professionals, besides 18,000 nursing student affiliates, providing care in long-term care facilities, hospitals, the community, public health and clinics.