Registered nurses in Durham may be forced to strike

Nurses have been without a contract since March 2012

Public health nurses working for the Durham Region Health Department are planning to hold a pre-conciliation strike vote on Thursday.

The 184 registered nurses and nurse practitioners are members of the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) and provide clinic services including immunization and sexual health, and provide health promotion programs and services. They also provide Healthy Babies, Healthy Children program services to care for more than 6,000 newborn babies in Durham each year. They have been without a contract since March 31, 2012.

“Our dedicated nurses deserve to be shown the respect at the bargaining table that reflects the integral role they play in the community,” ONA president Linda Haslam-Stroud said in a press release.

ONA, which represents 60,000 registered nurses and allied health professionals, and the Durham Region Health Department began bargaining on Sept. 28, 2012 but talks ended on Oct. 29. The union filed for conciliation on Oct. 31 and it is scheduled for Jan. 21.

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