The Fight for Working Conditions in
Health Care Acceptable to
Those Who Do the Work
Nurses Step Up Their Fight Against Mandatory Overtime and Other Pressing Issues
Quebec health care workers in Mauricie region participate in "No
Mandatory Overtime" day of action April 8, 2019. (FIQ)
Nurses across Canada are tackling the crisis in working
conditions in the health care sector. Those working conditions have a
deep impact on the health and safety of health care workers and on the
patients in their care. Nurses are demanding not words but deeds in
concrete measures from the government and administrations of the health
care
institutions to correct the situation. At this time, a major focus of
their actions is the opposition to mandatory overtime, which
governments and administrations have forced upon nurses as a constant
system of crisis management.
Quebec Interprofessional Health Federation (FIQ)
Some 76,000 nurses, licensed practical nurses,
respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists, members of the
Quebec Interprofessional Health Federation (FIQ) held a successful "No
Mandatory Overtime" day of action on April 8. Members performed no
mandatory overtime during the day of action. According to the FIQ, the
successful action
without major incident proved that the health care system can operate
without mandatory overtime.
Shortly after they held their day of action, the FIQ
leadership held a meeting with the Quebec Minister of Health and Social
Services to push forward the nurses' demands for the upgrading of jobs.
This would mean for example upgrading jobs from two-day a week to a
certain stability with full time or four-day weeks. This would also be
accomplished without rotation of nurses where they are constantly moved
from one institution to another, possibly even over long distances.
A concrete agreement was reached whereby the Minster
pledged that the CEOs of health care establishments will soon call the
local unions together to begin the work of upgrading jobs so that
definite action plans can be worked out before summer. An agreement was
also reached to do a summation of the pilot projects regarding
nurse/patient
ratios that were carried out in a number of health departments of
various institutions across Quebec. The joint summation will determine
the parameters to be used for ratios to be deployed in institutions
where the need is particularly critical.
New Brunswick Nurses Union (NBNU) Addresses Mandatory
Overtime
NBNU is tackling the problem of the inability of nurses
to leave at the end of their scheduled shift. They are coerced into
working shifts as long as 24 hours under the pretext of "patient
abandonment." The result leads to an unsafe working environment and
unsafe patient care, which is unacceptable according to the nurses'
union.
NBNU is highlighting the fact that registered nurses
are governed by the Nurses Act and by the Code of Ethics for
Registered Nurses and the Nurses Association of New Brunswick (NANB),
as their licensing body. As registered professionals, nurses must be
allowed to exercise their judgement on their own fitness to practice.
The Code
says:
"Nurses maintain their fitness to practice. If they are
aware that they do not have the necessary physical, mental or emotional
capacity to practise safely and competently, they withdraw from the
provision of care after consulting with their employer. [...]"
Given the seriousness of the issue, NBNU has
collaborated with NANB to produce a safety package, which includes
Guidelines for working beyond scheduled shifts and a Letter addressing
their concerns, which reads:
"This letter confirms that on the following date:
_______, on the following unit/facility: _______ you, _______, my
supervisor, have requested that I, _______, remain on duty beyond my
scheduled shift. I have also notified you that, in my professional
opinion, I do not feel safe to practice beyond my scheduled shift due
to personal health
reasons (including fatigue), and I have requested that you make every
reasonable effort to find alternative relief.
"Please be advised that the Collective Agreement
governing my employment does not provide for mandatory overtime. Please
be further advised that practice guidelines of the Nurses Association
of New Brunswick provide that the following situations are not
considered abandonment: refusing to work extra hours or shifts beyond
the posted
work schedule when the nurse has given proper notice, and withdrawing
from care due to fitness to practice concerns (personal health issues,
including fatigue) with appropriate notice.
"Please confirm your decision in writing:
"Authorization to Leave
"I acknowledge that I have read and understood the
above, and that you have advised me that you do not feel safe to
practice during the extra hours that I have asked you to work. I will
find an alternative relief and allow you to leave work at _______.
"Signature of Supervisor
"OR
"Requirement to Work
"I acknowledge that I have read and understood the
above, and that you have advised me that, in your professional opinion,
you do not feel safe to practice during these extra hours.
Notwithstanding your professional opinion, I am nonetheless requiring
you to work from _______ to _______.
"Signature of Supervisor"
The letter is meant to counter the threats and pressure
exercised on nurses resulting in them not being able to leave at the
end of their shift.
Registered Nurses' Union Newfoundland & Labrador
(RNUNL)
RNUNL is waging a campaign to oppose insufficient nurse
staffing levels. The union points out that staffing problems are
leading nurses to be forced to work on occasion 24-hour shifts or five
shifts in a week that can extend to 16 to 20 hours of work or sometimes
up to seven 12-hour shifts in a row. This also leads to patients having
to be
flown out of the province to receive the care they need. RNUNL is
demanding the withdrawal of the implied rule that the health care
system is to function on the basis of the exhaustion and lack of safety
of nurses, which puts them at risk as well as endangering patients. The
union demands the immediate hiring of more nurses so that the sector
reaches adequate staffing levels.
This article was published in
Number 16 - May 2, 2019
Article Link:
The Fight for Working Conditions in
Health Care Acceptable to : Nurses Step Up Their Fight Against Mandatory Overtime and Other Pressing Issues
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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