News Release:
Labour Views:
UNW RESPONSES to “Frequently Asked Questions - Private Member’s Bill Proposal to Address Concerns raised by Nurses regarding the Public Service Act” by MLA Shauna Morgan
What’s the point of this initiative?
We know that healthcare workers, MLAs, and Northerners want to see more progress on healthcare issues, and so does your union. However, taking away the voice of unionized workers through legislation is not the answer.
Most of the issues we hear about in healthcare come down to management decisions. How the NTHSSA manages our healthcare system and its workers is something that can’t really be legislated. However, MLAs can and should call for more accountability from NTHSSA management.
While we welcome the involvement of MLAs in advocating for workers, it is not the place of lawmakers and legislatures to dictate how a union represents its members.
What’s the big deal? If I’m not a nurse – why should I care about this?
Many front-line healthcare staff working side by side in the same worksites as nurses, in professions other than nursing, including Allied Health Professionals. These healthcare professionals could see workplace morale, coworker relationships, and the delivery of healthcare overall impacted under this proposed legislation.
Why is a bill needed? Why can’t UNW members just hold an internal vote on how they want to organize themselves?
It’s not needed. Union members have the right to and can determine their future without the interference of MLAs.
There are already mechanisms in place for the union and the employer to work with each other to bring forward changes as needed. These changes should be driven by the members of the union, not MLAs.
What about other kinds of GNWT employees who may want their own separate collective agreement?
By giving MLAs the power to break up bargaining units, we open the door to union busting and the chipping away of workers’ bargaining power. Allowing lawmakers to decide how workers organize takes away the voice of the workers they're claiming to help, and undermines the role of the union entirely.
For example, Hay River Health & Social Services members struggle every round of bargaining to catch up to the gains of the GNWT CA.
Shift workers vs office workers
A significant portion of the UNW/GNWT collective agreement addresses employees that fall outside the “9-5”. It is one of the main purposes of any collective agreement, to address different and varying work situations. Amendments to all parts of the collective agreement are fair play in negotiations.
Appendix A10 is dedicated to healthcare workers and includes items that can be engineered specifically toward recruitment and retention of specialized workers.
Appendix A10 is where things like patient ratios can be negotiated, if the Employer had any interest in it, and it would be helpful if MLAs supported this when union members are in negotiations.
Shift premiums are addressed in Article 27.
Rules around shift work are addressed in Article 22.02
8 Hour Rest Periods between shifts are addressed in Article 22.12.
There is an MOU regarding Labour Market Supplements which allows the employer to approach the union at any time to discuss implementing or amending Labour Market Supplements.
Other professions with unique working conditions which have their own appendices or articles include, but are not limited to: tradespeople, corrections officers, college educators, parks workers, school year employees, firefighters, etc.
Article 57 (reopener) of the UNW-GNWT collective agreement allows for the parties to mutually amend sections of the agreement at any time and as needed to address pressing issues affecting workers that can’t wait until the next round of formal negotiations. The union would be happy to negotiate patient ratios at any time.
What about other healthcare workers (such as lab technicians, etc) who are not nurses registered with CANNN? Could they be included in this new bargaining unit?
No, not according to the proposed changes in the Bill. It has been written very specifically for nurses only.
Shutting out other allied health professionals who work under the same conditions in the same workplaces is a huge omission and shows that the wider impacts of this proposed bill have not been carefully considered or researched.
Given that most nurses are considered essential workers, how could they keep their bargaining power if they are split off from the rest of the public service, since they wouldn’t have the right to strike?
They can’t. The reality is that the right to withdraw labour is at the heart of a union’s bargaining power. There is no bargaining leverage more powerful than the right to strike.
The critical role that nurses play in our society is why nurses’ bargaining power is frequently undermined through back to work legislation, which we see regularly in southern Canada.
In addition, in other jurisdictions where there is a complete bargaining unit made up only of essential workers (like nurses), there is an arbitration route available. Unions generally do not want a third party interfering and making decisions that should be negotiated – however, if used sparingly in instances of last resort, it can be useful. This bill however does not address this at all. There are many gaps in this proposal, but this is one of the biggest. As it is written now, the nurses would not be able to strike, nor would they be able to use arbitration; they would literally have no power at all.
Having nurses represented by diverse bargaining units is NOT unique to the NWT and Nunavut.
Nurses in Ontario are represented by four different unions, with a variety of diverse bargaining units, some comprised entirely of nurses, some combining different healthcare professions, and some where nurses are in bargaining units along with janitorial, maintenance, and other workers in healthcare settings.
Similarly, nurses in BC are represented by four different unions.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to how unions organize and represent healthcare workers across Canada. We need to do what’s best for workers in the Northwest Territories.
Why now? Why can’t this wait until the government holds comprehensive consultations with the UNW and other stakeholders?
Our question is: why is this being rushed without consultation with the key stakeholders?
Union members have the right to determine their future without the interference of MLAs.
The government and the Union have been consulting extensively for a number of years on modernizing the Public Service Act. This bill undermines all of that collaborative work.
Workers have the right to meet with their union and understand how this could impact them, and the union has a responsibility to ensure that every affected member has a chance to be heard. Members deserve time to learn about the potential impacts of reorganizing, so they can make decisions about their representation based on all of the information.
Are there other paths the members would like to try before making significant and irreversible changes to their structure of their bargaining unit?
Are members aware of the other paths and other options already available to them?
Is this something that members want the Union focusing its resources on right now?
OTHER FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – What the UNW is hearing from members and the public
How does this affect Hay River Health nurses and healthcare workers?
This is not clearly addressed the way the draft bill is written. If the intent is to include Hay River HSSA nurses, then all of those healthcare workers must be consulted by their union as well.
Both the GNWT and the UNW have talked publicly about bringing Hay River HSSA into the Public Service. This bill will definitely affect that possibility.
Does this affect Avens nurses?
This is also not addressed and it is unknown how they would be affected.
If this Bill was to be put forward and pass, would a new nurses’ collective agreement start with the parts of the GNWT CA that they want included?
No. The new bargaining unit and collective agreement would start from scratch.
Major arbitration wins that have been achieved for GNWT workers would in most cases not apply to a new bargaining unit.
Who would represent nurses in grievances and other workplace issues in the interim, before a new collective agreement is negotiated?
There would be no collective agreement which is the “rule book” for both employer, workers, and union. Members of this proposed new bargaining unit would be unrepresented until a collective agreement is agreed to and signed off.
Do NWT nurses have the capacity to maintain an independent bargaining unit?
We can’t speculate on that, there are too many questions and variables.
Why does the union appear to be fighting this?
We aren’t - the UNW isn’t opposed to this idea as a concept. But the bill as proposed is very problematic. Changing legislation is a serious, far-reaching action that needs to be given critical research and consideration. This bill is rushed and uninformed.
All union members are entitled to represent themselves, together, with all the information, pros and cons.