TORONTO, March 18, 2014 /CNW/ - As previously noted, the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) and the Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA) have yet to reach an agreement through collective bargaining or mediation. The matter is now in the hands of an arbitration board.
In response to recent public comments about the bargaining mandates of Ontario's hospitals, OHA President and CEO, Anthony Dale, issued the following statement:
"Ontario's hospitals deeply respect and value nurses, just as they value all health care professionals.
The bargaining mandate that Ontario's hospitals used during recent negotiations with ONA was not only fair and reasonable, it was based on similar recently-negotiated agreements that the province's hospitals successfully - and voluntarily - achieved with both the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). These two unions represent tens of thousands of important health care professionals.
By using a similar bargaining mandate with nurses, hospitals have sought to maintain patterns of fairness consistent with what other health care professionals have responded positively to and that also remain affordable for the province.
All health professionals work hard every day to meet the needs of Ontario's patients. Hospitals respect this work and want to ensure the health system remains viable for the thousands of Ontarians who rely on hospital services every day."
Click here to read more about the recent voluntary agreement reached between the OHA and CUPE.
A similar agreement was also recently achieved with the SEIU on December 6, 2013.
The OHA is a voluntary organization representing approximately 149 public hospital corporations across 225 sites in Ontario. As the voice of Ontario's hospitals, the OHA is achieving a high-performing health system by fostering leadership, supporting innovation and building linkages between hospitals and their communities.
SOURCE: Ontario Hospital Association
Amy Clark, OHA Public Affairs
416-205-1433; [email protected]
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