BC nurses expand job action as hundreds of health workers rally outside Vancouver General Hospital

Hundreds of health-care workers gathered outside Vancouver General Hospital on Tuesday, ramping up job action in the ongoing labour dispute between the B.C. Nurses’ Union and the provincial government.

The rally drew support from members of the B.C. Nurses’ Union, the Hospital Employees’ Union, the Health Sciences Association of B.C. and the B.C. Federation of Labour, with demonstrators stretching across several city blocks.

Hospital Employees’ Union president Barbara Nederpel said frontline workers have carried the burden of B.C.’s strained health-care system for too long and urged the provincial government to address their concerns.

The Canadian Press says, the B.C. Nurses’ Union says it will expand picket lines to two health-care facilities in Surrey later this week, with additional job action planned if negotiations remain stalled.

Union president Adriane Gear said nurses have reported being threatened and intimidated by managers since job action began earlier this month. She said the union has filed an emergency application with the provincial labour board over what she described as "poor behaviour."

According to Gear, the union has received more than 1,400 reports from members since implementing overtime bans and refusing non-nursing duties. She also said ongoing staffing shortages and increasing incidents of workplace violence continue to put significant pressure on nurses and other health-care workers.

The dispute intensified after union members rejected a tentative agreement negotiated by both sides, with 67 per cent voting against the proposed deal.

The B.C. Nurses’ Union has begun picketing outside Vancouver General Hospital and plans to expand job action to two health-care facilities in Surrey later this week, with further escalation possible if no agreement is reached.