Talks Fail, CCAC Strike Continues

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Mediated talks between the Community Care Access Centres and the Ontario Nurses’ Association have broken off after one day.

The Ontario Nurses’ Association said that the CCAC tabled substantially the same offer that had been previously rejected by their members.

“ONA’s bargaining team brought suggestions to mediation of how to end this impasse and return the invaluable care that our CCAC health experts bring to their patients,” said ONA President Linda Haslam-Stroud, RN.

Friday afternoon, the Minister of Health issued a statement urging that both sides resume negotiations and agree to interest arbitration to resolve the current impasse.

“Across Canada, provinces are faced with the challenge of an aging population with increasingly complex health care needs. Ontario is no exception. We know that patients want to receive the best quality care in the comfort of their homes for as long as possible. That is why we have been focused on improving the experiences of patients and their families, and ensuring access to high-quality home and community care right across the province,” said Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

While Haslam-Stroud is pleased that the government has finally intervened, she notes that ONA offered to go to arbitration to settle the dispute months ago in order to prevent our RNs and health care professionals from being frozen out on the picket lines. She says the offer still stands.

“Unfortunately, the greedy employers rejected arbitration to strong-arm our CCAC health professionals and force them out of their workplaces. Since then, CCAC management has been trying to apply a band-aid in community care while it is rapidly bleeding out.”

ONA is the union representing 60,000 registered nurses and allied health professionals, as well as more than 14,000 nursing student affiliates providing care in hospitals, long-term care, the community, public health, clinics and industry.

They have been on the picket line since January 30th.