Hospital workers at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) have voted to change their union representation.
Unifor National reported on Tuesday that an "overwhelming" majority of the 519 eligible hospital workers voted in favour of joining Unifor and leaving the Christian Labour Association of Canada, their previous union.
Unifor National Secretary-Treasurer Lana Payne welcomes the hospital workers to Unifor.
“These workers join with thousands of health care workers who are already part of Unifor, and can now draw on that depth of experience and knowledge to negotiate better working conditions,” said Payne.
Unifor said the voting took place electronically over three days last week. Unifor said it will now turn its focus on electing workplace representatives over the coming weeks and continue to reach out to its membership to prepare for future collective bargaining.
“Hospital workers across this province have been unfairly subjected to Bill 124 which caps their total compensation at 1% for three years,” said Katha Fortier, Assistant to the National President. “These members will now be part of our fight back campaign for fair wages and our Charter Challenge against this Bill that unjustly affects mostly women workers in this province.”
The new members include registered practical nurses, patient care assistants, dialysis assistants, building operations, electricians, plumbers, housekeepers, personal support workers, dietary aides, and therapy staff. The nurses are still represented by the Ontario Nurses' Association.
They join 30,000 Unifor members working in hospitals, long-term care facilities, emergency medical services, community services, social services, and home care.
Meanwhile, CKHA is hiring a new recruiter to improve hospital staffing and services and is investing in its frontline nurses through leadership and mentoring programs.
The pandemic has forced many nurses across the province to leave their profession because they're either burned out or disillusioned with their jobs and CKHA officials noted there are still some staffing shortages that need filling.
CKHA's leadership noted the staffing numbers fluctuate all the time and vacancies continue to be posted. They also said vacations are being encouraged and granted. They can't say how many local nurses have left because of burnout but noted 12 registered nurses left because of the mandatory vaccination policy and six registered practical nurses also left for the same reason.
CKHA Chief Nursing Executive Meredith Whitehead said the Director of Organizational and Leadership Development will be focusing on staff and leadership development as well as programs like orientation and establishing a mentorship program for novice nurses joining CKHA. Hospital officials said they have heard from recent hires that this would make a difference for them in joining a new organization early in their career.
Whitehead said frontline nurses and leaders must be supported to be ready for future opportunities. Whitehead said the mentorship program involves seasoned nurses helping younger nurses get acclimatized to their working environment by sharing their experiences.
"Really wanting to invest in our frontline to help grow them but also make sure that we are meeting the needs they would like to do in their career as well," said Whitehead. "Seasoned nurses have a lot of experiences, guidance, and wisdom that they can share with our newer graduates as they enter the profession."
CKHA has also increased its nursing resource team to provide added relief for nurses and has started a new hospitalist model, which is a program with doctors who spend almost all of their practice time managing the care of hospital inpatients.
The hospital is also looking for a new equity, diversity, and inclusion executive lead.
