Hastings & Prince Edward Health Unit Nurses to Vote on Employer’s Final Offer

BELLEVILLE, ON – Presented with a final offer by their employer, 50 registered nurses, public health nurses and registered practical nurses providing high-quality public health services at the Hastings & Prince Edward Health Unit will vote on the offer August 17 and 18.

Results of the vote will be tabulated late Friday afternoon. Should the nurses reject the offer, they will be on strike as of Monday, August 21.

The Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) members have been without a contract since last December. Their employer brought an identical monetary offer to the table throughout negotiations and conciliation, in a dispute in which wages are the major issue.

The nurses provide a wide range of care and services to almost 200,000 residents of Hastings and Prince Edward Counties in a catchment area of more than 7,000 square kilometres. They have gone to extraordinary lengths to negotiate a fair contract with this employer, who triggered a countdown to a strike vote when they filed for a no board report.

ONA is the union representing 68,000 registered nurses and health-care professionals as well as more than 18,000 nursing student affiliates providing care in hospitals, long-term care, public health, the community, clinics and industry.

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