Shared Health nurses ratify contract after first deal dumped

Nurses who work for Shared Health have voted in favour of a new collective agreement after their employer sweetened the pot in advance of a possible strike vote.

About 77 per cent of voters backed the four-year contract, said Manitoba Nurses Union Darlene Jackson on Monday.

“Now the work begins to keep pushing for and fighting for things that nurses need to see in the facilities,” Jackson said. “They need to see safer workplaces, they need to see a decrease in their workload.”

The 4,100 nurses, many of whom work at Health Sciences Centre, received an updated contract proposal after rejecting the first tentative contract in May, which had been recommended by the union.

They were the only holdouts among nurses in six Manitoba health regions. They voted 57 per cent in favour of rejecting that proposed deal. The other contracts were accepted by primarily narrow margins.

The initial proposal included a full-time incentive that would boost pay for full-time nurses and part-time nurses who work the equivalent of full-time hours by about $6 an hour. The updated proposal extends that incentive to part-time nurses who don’t work full-time hours and is renamed a “salary enhancement.”

Jackson said members rejected the tentative deal in May because it failed to address safety concerns at HSC, including violence directed toward health workers.

She applauded the news AI-enabled weapons detection systems will be installed at HSC’s emergency department and crisis response centres this week, but called the move a drop in the bucket.

“(Nurses) are still being yelled at, they’re still been spat on, they’re still been hit and punched and threatened, and those are all issues that need to be dealt with” Jackson said, adding workplace culture has yet to improve since the NDP formed government last fall and promised to tackle the issue.

“We are in a critical nursing shortage; nurses are not dispensable and are not easily replaceable. It’s just about bringing some respect and value to the profession again.”

Monika Warren, Shared Health’s chief nursing officer and chief operating officer of provincial co-ordinated health services, said the new contract reflects on work that will be done to “change workplace culture so that all nurses are valued, treated fairly and know their voices matter.”

“These efforts will continue to develop and evolve over time to ensure nurses know how appreciated they are by their employer and by all Manitobans,” Warren said in an emailed statement.

Other changes to the contract accepted Monday include updated wording to deal with workplace safety and nurse-to-patient ratios.

The new contract will establish a committee to look into how many patients one nurse can reasonably be expected to care for at one time.

As per the deal, the committee must be formed within 60 days of ratification and submit recommendations by Jan. 1, 2026, with key focus areas determined by the start of next year.

Before the outcome of the vote was announced, Premier Wab Kinew said the new MLA for Tuxedo, Carla Compton, a nurse, will be a special adviser on nursing, culture and safety. He made the announcement at her swearing-in at the legislature.

Compton will be the “point person” for those on the front lines of health care to go to with their concerns about safety, workplace culture and respect from management.

When asked about the stand Shared Health nurses took by rejecting the first tentative agreement, Compton said she was keen to speak with them.

“My role is going to be maintaining direct connection with the front lines, so absolutely I (look forward) to further conversations with all nurses and front-line health care workers.”

— with files from Carol Sanders

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca