UPSE would like to respond to the CBC Article “Union concerned as financial incentive to fill P.E.I. nursing positions expires” dated September 18, 2023, by the reporter, Alex MacIsaac.
See article (here)
In review, the article indicates that Health PEI has no plans to bring back an incentive to help fill Registered Nursing (RN) shifts because the Nurses Union has a new collective agreement in place. I find this rationale and reasoning from the employer confusing as UPSE also had similar incentives in place with Health PEI for our Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN), Residential Care Workers (RCW), and Patient Care Workers (PCW) and these incentives have not been reinstated even though we do not yet have a new collective agreement in place.
UPSE met representatives from Health PEI on August 24, 2023, and made a formal request to extend the incentives / MOA for our members until such time as our collective agreement bargaining is concluded and we have a deal. The employer did not respond to our request and we were only notified by way of a memo sent to all staff on September 7 that the incentives were no longer being offered. If the rationale for ending the incentives / MOA for the PEINU was because they were incorporated into their signed collective agreement, then what is the reason for ending the incentives/MOA for UPSE members? We still don’t know and our members deserve an answer.
Karen Jackson,
UPSE President