Media Advisory - Ottawa Nurses to Picket Merrilee Fullerton's Office Nurses urge Minister of Long-Term Care to Repeal Bills 124, 175

OTTAWA, ON, July 14, 2020 /CNW/ - Front-line registered nurses, nurse practitioners, registered practical nurses and health-care professionals will rally in front of Minister of Long-Term Care Merrilee Fullerton's office today, calling on the provincial government to repeal wage suppression legislation, Bill 124 as well as Bill 175, which will have a negative impact on access to home and community healthcare.

The nurses ? from The Ottawa Hospital and Queensway Carleton Hospital ? say Bill 124, which passed late last year, discriminates against female-dominated professions and interferes with the right to freely collectively bargain. Bill 124, they say, breaches their Charter rights. Bill 175 will harm both those who work in home and community healthcare and threatens quality care for those who need it.

In a recent decision for hospital-sector nurses and health-care professionals, an arbitrator noted that his hands were tied by the bill when it came to determining monetary issues for these front-line workers. Bill 124 limits wage increases to a maximum increase of one per cent in total compensation each year for three years.

Front-line nurses working during the COVID-19 pandemic have not seen a wage increase that equalled the cost of living in more than a decade. Male-dominated professions, such as firefighters and police, were specifically exempted from the legislation.

ONA is the union representing more than 68,000 registered nurses and health-care professionals, as well as 18,000 nursing student affiliates, providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community, clinics and industry.

www.ona.org; Facebook.com/OntarioNurses; Twitter.com/OntarioNurses instagram.com/ontario.nurses

SOURCE Ontario Nurses' Association