B.C. nurses reach tentative labour agreement with provincial government

Victoria -

More than 51,000 registered, psychiatric and licensed practical nurses in British Columbia have reached a tentative contract with the provincial government.

The Nurses Bargaining Association says the agreement it reached Friday with the province's Health Employers Association includes “record-setting compensation” and a “groundbreaking commitment” to support mandatory nurse-patient ratios.

The nurses in the bargaining association are represented by the BC Nurses' Union, the Health Sciences Association, the Union of Psychiatric Nurses, the Hospital Employees' Union and the British Columbia General Employees' Union.

Those affected work in a variety of settings including hospitals, long-term care homes, home-care environments and public health.

The province's Health Employers Association issued a separate statement saying the contract includes an agreement on unspecified policy-based initiatives as part of its health human resource strategy, which it previously said will optimize the health system, expand training and improve recruitment and retention within the field.

The Nurses Bargaining Association says details about information meetings and the ratification process will be available early next week.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 1, 2023.