MGEU's Olfert speaks up for Manitoba government nurses

'Worth just as much - hour for hour - as the work of nurses elsewhere in Manitoba.'

Winnipeg (3 Sep. 2008) - The Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union (MGEU/NUPGE) says nurses working in the Manitoba Civil Service are being mistreated by the province when compared with nurses working under the Manitoba Nurses Union (MNU) contract.

For many years, nurses working in the Manitoba Civil Service have worked longer hours than their colleagues working in other health care facilities and have done so for less pay. With the recent MNU settlement, this gap in pay has widened even further, says MGEU president Peter Olfert.

Olfert has again raised this issue with the province. In a letter to Manitoba Premier Gary Doer, he writes that the situation is unacceptable and must be dealt with immediately.

Olfert asked that the following be adopted for all nursing classifications in the Government Employees’ Master Agreement:

• Equity in the hourly rates of pay between MGEU nurses and MNU nurses, retroactive to October 1, 2007.
• An agreement that such equity will be maintained on an ongoing basis.

"The market adjustments received by the MNU nurses were a response to recruitment and retention issues that have long plagued the Manitoba health care system," Olfert advised the premier.

"You undoubtedly know that because of longer hours and less pay, together with difficult-to-manage patient populations, these challenges are particularly acute for nurses in Civil Service institutions," he added.

"The result is that nursing shortages and high levels of mandatory overtime are putting the health and safety of both patients and staff at risk.

"Add to this the fact that nurses in the Civil Service are dealing with the inequities in pay by leaving the Civil Service and going to work in their local hospitals. This will exacerbate retention issues in places like the Selkirk Mental Health Centre and the Manitoba Development Centre, to name just two," Olfert noted.

"We believe that the work of nurses in the Civil Service is worth just as much - hour for hour - as the work of nurses elsewhere in Manitoba and that the health and safety of these nurses, and their patients and co-workers, is just as important as that of their counterparts in other health care facilities," he said.

"You have been quoted over the years saying “a nurse is a nurse is a nurse”. Apparently this is not the case if they work in the Manitoba Civil Service. Once again, on behalf of MGEU nurses, we request that this pay inequity be addressed immediately." NUPGE