WINNIPEG – The Manitoba Nurses Union is pleased to announce that a majority of our members have voted to ratify the tentative agreement that had been reached with the Employers last week.

The Ratification Vote took place over a course of a week, with the voting closing at noon today, Oct. 14, 2021, after starting on Oct. 7.  

“We would like to thank every single MNU member who took the time to attend one of our 14 webinars, time to read the bargaining documents and, of course, exercised their right by casting a vote,” said MNU President Darlene Jackson. 

“It truly was a long four and a half years without a collective agreement and as I have mentioned before, there is still work to be done to address the significant weaknesses in our health care system, but the improvements in this contract are a necessary and positive first step in addressing nurses’ serious concerns.”

The focal point for MNU’s Provincial Collective Bargaining Committee, that they worked tirelessly to achieve, was a fair agreement: one that honours both recruitment and retention of nurses, as well as salary increases, financial incentives and, of course, a better work/life balance. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned an already difficult situation into a perilous and unsustainable one. Before the pandemic, we had a critical nursing shortage. Since the pandemic, it has become a crisis.

The Tentative Agreement with the Employers addresses many issues, including improvements to shift premiums, overtime compensation, meal allowance, isolation allowance, academic allowance entitlement, and the health spending account. 

There are protections against inordinately long consecutive hours of work and durations of standby. There is also an investment in recruitment and retention initiatives through a joint committee with a fund of $4M/year.

MNU represents more than 12,000 nurses of all designations from across Manitoba.

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Media Contact:
Brandi Johnson
204-226-9803
bjohnson@manitobanurses.ca