York Region ratifies new deal with its nurses

Deal will see wages rise by 6% over 3 years for 393 public health, registered nurses and clinical nurse specialists

Newmakrettoday.ca
July 13, 2022

York Region and the Ontario Nurses’ Association have announced a new collective agreement that will include a six per cent wage increase over the three-year contract term.

The deal announced today will see regional nurses get a two per cent increase for 2021, 2022 and 2023, retroactive to April 1, 2021.

Region chairman and CEO Wayne Emmerson said nurses provide a critical role.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us of the critical role nurses provide in our communities,” said Emmerson. “On behalf of York regional council and more than 1.2 million residents who call York Region home, this agreement strikes the right balance between our unionized employees, the corporation and our taxpayers.”

The two sides have worked on the deal for more than a year, with the last deal expiring on March 31, 2021. The deal represents 393 regional staff and will run until March 31, 2024. Staff included public health nurses, registered nurses and clinical nurse specialists. ONA membership ratified the deal June 13, while regional council did so June 30.

“The past two-plus years have been challenging for all of us, but we are cautiously optimistic the worst is now behind us,” York Region Chief Administrative Officer Bruce Macgregor said. “As we look to post-pandemic recovery, we are starting to resume the important public health programs and services that were paused during our response to COVID-19.”

The region said the agreement also includes additional support for employee health and well-being, plus “improvements to enhance service delivery.”

York Region has been working out new deals with its other unions recently. It ratified a new five-year contract with the Canadian Union of Public Employees in May.