Overview
- The BC Nurses’ Union served a 72-hour strike notice on Monday that would put roughly 60,000 nurses in a legal strike position at 12:01 p.m. on Thursday unless negotiators reach a new deal.
- Members rejected a tentative collective agreement on June 19 by about 67 percent after previously authorizing strike action with a 98.2 percent vote in early May.
- The discarded May 22 offer included a 12 percent wage increase spread over four years plus benefit and shift-premium changes, but nurses said it did not deliver the general wage gains or retention funding they want.
- The union has outlined targeted job actions such as banning non-nursing tasks, restricting overtime and working to rule while stressing that essential services set by the Labour Relations Board would be maintained.
- Union leaders cite more than 4,500 nursing vacancies and frequent workplace violence claims as drivers of the dispute, and the coming days will hinge on renewed bargaining and the Labour Board’s determination of essential-service levels.