Five nurses from Nisichawayasihk Local 138 of the Manitoba Nurses Union (MNU) who have been on strike from the Nisichawayasihk Personal Care Home since May 12 are expecting some support from other nurses and union members on the picket line at 5 p.m. today, according to an MNU press release.
Among those anticipated to show up include MNU members from Thompson, as well as Manitoba Government Employees Union and United Steelworkers members, and possibly some members of the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals.
"We firmly believe that it is an injustice to these dedicated nurses that they should be paid less than any other nurse in this province," said MNU president Sandi Mowat."We will continue to fight to ensure that the nurses who work at the Nisichawayasihk Personal Care Home are treated fairly so that they can continue to provide safe care to members of the Nelson House community."
Mowat made the trip to Nelson House to show her support for the nurses on May 16 – the fifth day of the strike.
“Nurses at Nisichawayasihk Personal Care Home are dedicated to their residents and deliver excellent care in an extremely challenging environment,” said Mowat. “To say that these nurses who work in such a remote area of the province should be paid less that other Manitoba nurse is an injustice and demonstrates a lack of respect for their contribution to the community.”
The Nisichawayasihk Personal Care Home is a 24-bed facility in Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (NCN) at Nelson House, which has about 4,800 members in Nelson House, South Indian Lake, Leaf Rapids, Thompson, Brandon and Winnipeg.
“Our proposal was to have an agreement that would bring them up to the same pay scale as the other nurses in Manitoba,” Mowat told the Nickel Belt News at the outset of the strike.
Nurses went to the bargaining table with the personal care home during the week of May 10, but talks broke down, which led to the strike, which Mowat is calling an equity issue.
The provincial government has agreed to fund their portion of what nurses are asking for, but the federal government has yet to commit any funds. “So our only recourse if we’re not going to get an agreement is to take a strike vote, which we did.”
Mowat hopes a deal can be made, so nurses can get back to work. “We have to be clear that the nurses just want to work and provide care to the residents of that home. Certainly we just want to make sure they’re treated fairly.”
Michelle Perron of the media relations department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada said in May that the federal government is committed to ensuring the health and safety of First Nation people and communities. “An essential services agreement is in place to ensure residents are receiving the necessary care and are not being relocated due to the labour dispute. The department has committed additional funding for the current fiscal year and is actively working with Nisichiwayasihk Cree Nation to address their concerns.”
