Bill 124 applies to teachers as well, Chris Stark pointed out, so it's a good idea for various parties affected to stick together in the face of it.
Cowin was also pleased to welcome Canadian Union of Public Employees members from Northumberland Hills Hospital from non-nursing positions, like bargaining-unit head Sue Burnell who waved the pink CUPE flag with several colleagues.
“Every health-care worker will be affected by Bill 124,” Burnell declared.
“We are trying to put a stop to it, because we put our lives on the line every day and we think we deserve more than 1%. We're not even allowed to strike or take labour actions like everybody else is allowed to do. This is about the limit of what we can do – come out and hold up a flag or a sign and hope everybody listens.”
Piccini came out of his office after more than an hour of the picketing to welcome Cowin and several colleagues inside for a meeting. Both sides came out after a 45-minute discussion where it was made clear that the labour provisions of the bill will remain in place, but assistance to the community's nurses can take other forms.
“First and foremost, I thank the nurses for what they do every day. They are our heroes, our nurses,” Piccini stated.
He noted that there are provisions that can take a nurse beyond the 1% threshold, such as promotions and educational qualifications.
He commended them for not focusing exclusively on the 1% and for participating in a broader discussion that he termed “very productive.”
In his parliamentary work, Piccini said he deals with people who have lost 80% of their income, sometimes their entire livelihoods. He sees farmers who work dawn to dusk in spite of losing 20% of their quotas. He sees downtown businesses shuttered, sometimes for good.
Frankly, he said, “we've got a lot of people who would kill for a 1% increase, and I can't start picking winners and losers.”
On the other hand, Piccini would argue that his government has helped the nurses in other ways, such as increasing long-term-care beds in the community and substantial base-funding increases to hospitals.
He was also impressed with the issues nurses raised about such issues as personal protective equipment.
“I have great respect for our heroes, our nurses. I made a commitment to our nurses I would talk to them, and they have my word we are going to, as a government, continue to reform health care,” he pledged.
“I know we can find common ground.”
By way of follow-up, Piccini committed to a round-table with administration and nurses, “so administration can hear what the front line is saying.
“I take my lead from a premier that listens to people, that gives out his (phone) number, and I will fight for this community, even if we fundamentally disagree.”
Cowin agreed that the word “productive” might be used to describe the meeting.
“We didn't get the request we were asking for, which was to repeal 124,” she allowed.
“Honestly, I wasn't holding my breath thinking we would get that today, but we did have a very fulsome conversation on some things we were really, really wanting to talk about. He was very, very positive, and will take that back to the government.
“David wants to do a round table with nurses to see what we need to be able to do our jobs.”
One big item would be to change nurse-to-patient ratios to allow fewer patients per nurse, she said.
At Northumberland Hills Hospital, Intensive Care Unit RN Pam Sharman said, “we want to make sure people who come to our facility are treated with the utmost care and respect we can offer.”
This wish to render to best of care sometime wars with record-keeping and time limits. Add a large patient load, she said, and a nurse knows that when she goes home, she'll have nagging little thoughts that she could have done better.
“Cutting funding makes the whole situation worse,” Cowin added, especially given that Ontario has the largest population of any province.
NHH Critical Care RN Amanda Mayock said this is one reason Cobourg alone lost 50 RNs.
“At the end of the day, they go home knowing what they couldn't do for their patients.”
Sharman said that members of the public have recently learned just how bad things can get when Canadian Forces members worked in Ontario nursing homes to help overwhelmed staff and felt obligated to share all they had learned about those conditions.
“And all of a sudden, there's this huge uproar,” she said.
“How awful it has been in these environments for years, and it took the military saying something – I think that's what I was saying to him.”
Mayock recalled discussing the 1% issue with Piccini, and hearing him say that he couldn't take sides among the people of the public service.
“I think our main focus was taking this opportunity to have these better ideas and concerns expressed.”
Looking ahead to the round table, she anticipates an opportunity for more in-depth communication to result in better patient care.
“Patient-centred care leads to less time in hospital, it leads to more positive outcomes outside the hospital in the community,” Sharman added.
Cowin admitted that the nurses would have loved a raise in the vicinity of 5%, “but there are so many other things we are very, very passionate about.”
