Nurses to picket Oakville hospital in search of better staffing, wages and care
Published February 22, 2023 at 3:19 pm
Nurses and health-care professional from across Halton Region will be gathering outside of Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital on Thursday (Feb. 22) demanding better staffing, wages and better care for patients.
They’ll join thousands of other members of the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) who will be picketing locations across the province Thursday in support of a better contract.
Picketing at the Oakville hospital is set for noon to 3 p.m.
The ONA has been bargaining with the Ontario Hospital Association in search of better deal for its 60,000 hospital-sector members following three years of wage suppression under Bill 124, recently ruled unconstitutional by the Ontario courts.
“Nurses and community allies are picketing in support of a contract that will improve retention in the critically understaffed sector and lead to better patient care,” said the largest provincial nurses’ union in Canada in a release.
The pickets will be held outside hospitals and Conservative MPPs’ offices in what the ONA says is an effort to show its unified voice and commitment to achieving a fair deal for Ontario’s nurses.
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“This is the second in a series of escalating actions across Ontario planned by nurses and health-care professionals who are fighting for crucial improvements to help ensure Ontarians get the public hospital care they need and deserve,” added the union.
ONA represents 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, home and community care and industry.
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