Ontario Nurses' Association to Lift Censure of Bluewater Health

TORONTO , Sept. 28 /CNW/ - The Board of Directors of the Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA) has approved the lifting of the censure that has been in place against the Bluewater Health Centre since June 2002 .

"Our members recognize that the workplace and labour relations conflict has continued for more than seven years now," says ONA President Linda Haslam-Stroud, RN. "Though there have been some improvements in working conditions and labour relations, there continues to be a number of issues identified by our front-line registered nurses with this employer.

"ONA members and leadership recognize that in this type of protracted conflict, one of the parties has to take the first step to improve matters, and ONA's members have decided that they will take that important first step to try to solve these ongoing conflicts," she says.

Haslam-Stroud says that the Bluewater Health management will have to move quickly to work with ONA leadership to prove to the front-line registered nurses that this significant move is recognized, respected and reciprocated.

ONA will carefully monitor the situation at Bluewater Health, and the Board will evaluate the state of working conditions and labour relations of ONA members in April 2010 .

Censuring is ONA's nation-wide public reproach of a health agency due to the negative impact on staff and patient care of poor labour relations and administrative practices.

ONA is the union representing 54,000 registered nurses and allied health professionals and 10,000 nursing students providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community, clinics and industry.

For further information: Ontario Nurses' Association, Sheree Bond, [phone], ext. 2430, cell: [phone]; Ruth Featherstone, [phone], ext. 2267