The Group Health Centre said it was “disappointed” and “frustrated” that an impending strike could “once again” disrupt patient care at the facility.
Last week, around 220 health care and administrative workers – including registered nurses, social workers and physiotherapists – called for a strike. If no agreement can be reached, pickets will be set up on Friday.
CUPE Local 894 says its members are “overworked, stressed and burned out” and deserve a raise.
“In the event of a work stoppage at the Group Health Centre, we want to reassure our patients and the community that we have a plan in place to continue providing health services and minimise disruptions to care as much as possible,” the GHC said in a press release. “We are disappointed that we are in this situation and frustrated for our patients whose access to primary care could once again be compromised.”
The press release states that CUPE members rejected two preliminary agreements between Group Health and the union’s negotiating team that called for a 9.5 percent wage increase over three years.
“The wage increases and other compensation improvements are consistent with industry standards across the province and represent a significant increase in investment by GHC of approximately $1.5 million over three years,” the press release said.
Below you will find the full press release from the Group Health Centre:
In the event of a work stoppage at the Group Health Centre, we want to reassure our patients and the community that we have a plan in place to continue to provide health services and minimise disruption to care as much as possible. We are disappointed that we are in this situation and frustrated for our patients whose access to primary care could once again be compromised.
Given the important role our employees play in providing quality care to our community, a work stoppage will impact our ability to provide our full capacity of health care services to our patients. Our priority is continuity of care and health care for our community.
We remain committed to working towards a solution and expect to return to the negotiating table for mediation on Thursday, July 25.
Thanks to the dedicated work of the GHC and CUPE negotiating teams, two tentative agreements were successfully negotiated during this round of negotiations, which took place between February and June 2024. Neither of these agreements was accepted by the membership. In recognition of the critical role of our team and the current economic conditions, the most recent agreement included a 9.5% wage increase over three years. The wage increases and other compensation improvements are in line with industry standards across the province and represent a significant increase in investment by GHC of approximately $1.5 million over three years.
In recent years, the parties (GHC and CUPE) have negotiated and ratified several collective agreements. The most recent agreement provided for a 3.75 percent increase in 2023, as well as a financial signing bonus for members. In previous years, the wage increases negotiated and agreed were adapted to the respective environment and tailored to the health sector.
We remain committed to finding a solution at the negotiating table so that we can continue to focus on our priority of ensuring healthcare for our community.
