Repeal Ontario's Bill 124! Increase Funding for Health Care!
Arbitration Decision in Nurses' Bargaining Will Deepen Crisis of Recruitment and Retention
Ontario nurses are fighting for the repeal of Bill 124, the Ford
government's anti-worker legislation that caps compensation increases
to one per cent per year over three years for most public sector
workers.
On September 20 nurses received the decision of an arbitration board
on the terms of the collective agreement between their union, the
Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA) and the Ontario Hospital Association.
Health care workers in Ontario are prohibited by law from striking and
when negotiations fail disputes are taken to a three-person
interest arbitration board, a panel consisting of one member chosen by
the union, one by the employers and a mutually-agreed upon chair.
 The
arbitration decision denied all the union's proposals for increases in
wages and working conditions that are necessary to solve the problem of
retention and recruitment of nurses, a problem that is now more serious
than ever. In his decision the Chair cited the Ford government's
anti-worker Bill 124 as the reason for rejecting ONA's proposals on
compensation. The union's member of the panel dissented and the
employers' member dissented in part with the decision of the chair.
Proposals from ONA dealt mainly with improvements in health and
safety provisions including timely and adequate provision of PPE based
on the precautionary principle, and increases in compensation for
nurses that are essential both for the well-being of nurses who are
working now but also to solve the crisis of recruitment of new
nurses.
Nurses and all health care workers in Ontario are waging a
determined fight for the repeal of Bill 124 which is being used by
employers and the government to cut wages when inflation is taken into
account. In their submission to the arbitration board ONA forcefully
argued that the crisis in staffing which existed before the pandemic
and has
become unbearable now, requires immediate and significant government
investment in recruitment and improvements needed to retain workers.
They also pointed out that the legislation exempts certain professions
that are male-dominated like firefighters and police, thus increasing
the already existing discrimination against women, a possible
breach of the Human Rights Code.
The union's press release of September 20 quotes ONA president Vicki
McKenna on the situation of the 60,000 nurses affected by the decision:
"Our members have continued to show up and hold the front lines through
the worst health crisis in more than a century. In many cases, they
have not been provided with sufficient personal protective
equipment, have feared for their lives and those of their families, and
many have incurred extra out-of-pocket living expenses to move away
from their families to protect them. This government has taken away
their rights and enabled their employers to send them to other
facilities without their agreement, have been denied time off and have
been
witness to horrors the public cannot imagine as the pandemic raced
through the province. We could not even negotiate improved mental
health benefits because the costs are more than allowable under the
legislation."
The chairperson of the arbitration board stated in his decision that
"Bill 124... limits to a very significant degree what it is even
possible for this board to consider in this round," essentially that
the board's hands are tied, not even permitted to inquire into or
remedy a breach of the Human Rights Code. As well, he notes that "Bill
124 provides
the government with a number of oversight and enforcement mechanisms
including the ability to invalidate an interest arbitration award," so
if the board were to defy the restrictions imposed by Bill 124 their
decision would be overturned.
Over 40 unions have launched a Charter Challenge to Bill 124 which
may well result in its being declared unconstitutional. In the
meantime, as that wends its way through the courts and the staffing
crisis deepens, employers cry poor, complaining about underfunding but
content to put the burden for that on the workers, with Bill 124 as
their
shield.
The government of Ontario has abandoned its responsibility to ensure
that the health care needs of the people are met. Decades of
neo-liberal anti-social cuts, privatization and restructuring have left
the health care system inadequately funded at the best of times,
completely overwhelmed with the added burden of COVID-19. This burden
has
fallen on the shoulders of the workers who have reached their limit and
need relief and support to be able to do their jobs. Anyone can see
that what is needed is immediate increased funding to improve the
conditions of those already working and to train and hire the thousands
of new workers that are needed, providing the current workforce and
new hires with working conditions that are humane, safe and dignified.
This article was published in
September 24, 2021 - No. 87
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2021/Articles/WO08873.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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