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Nurses in B.C. are set to escalate job action next week, their union announced Friday evening, one day after targeted action began.<\/p>\n
The B.C. Nurses’ Union (BCNU) said a picket line is planned to begin at Vancouver General Hospital on Tuesday, July 7 at 5:30 a.m. PT, but essential services like emergency care will be maintained to protect patient safety.<\/p>\n
Union president Adriane Gear said nurses do not want to be on picket lines.<\/p>\n
“We are in this profession to care for patients,” Gear said in a statement. <\/p>\n
“But the provincial government and health employers can no longer ignore the demands of our health-care system, nor can they disregard the incredible pressure nurses face day in and day out.”<\/p>\n
CBC News reached out to the union for comment on Friday evening.<\/p>\n
The announcement comes one day into overtime restrictions and a ban on non-nursing duties \u2014 including cleaning and delivering meals \u2014 for members of the Nurses’ Bargaining Association (NBA), after the 12 p.m. deadline passed Thursday without further progress on a new contact.<\/p>\n
The health-care workers are looking for a pay increase and mitigation of pressures like unsafe staffing levels and workplace violence, among other things.<\/p>\n
In the statement, BCNU CEO Jim Gould said the government needs to return to the table with “an offer that respects nurses” and recognizes their value.<\/p>\n
“This government is not going to solve the nursing shortage without making serious improvements to nurses\u2019 working conditions,” Gould said.<\/p>\n
He added that the union will not tolerate attempts by employers to threaten or intimidate members participating in lawful job action.<\/p>\n
The union, which represents about 60,000 nurses throughout the province, hasn’t had formal negotiations with the Health Employers Association of B.C. (HEABC) since May, when they reached a tentative deal<\/a> with health employers on a new collective agreement. <\/p>\n Earlier that month, nurses had voted 98.2 per cent in favour<\/a> of strike action due to stalled contract talks with the HEABC.<\/p>\n