Publish date: Tuesday, December 01, 2020
COVID-19
MNU members
Workplace issues/practices
Dear members,
I’m pleased to advise that after several weeks of intensive negotiations with the provincial employer group, we have agreed to a new Memorandum of Agreement on Pandemic Responsiveness to address redeployment, shift disruptions, and more.
The impact of COVID-19 is something that none of us working in the health care system have ever seen in our lifetimes. Nurses across the system are facing unprecedented challenges, and many are working incredibly long, difficult hours to meet the growing needs across the system.
Under MNU collective agreements, employers have the ability to invoke Article 10 in the event of an emergency. Article 10 is an employer tool that enables them to require nurses to perform duties as assigned despite any contrary provision in the collective agreement. An Article 10 invocation can be extremely disruptive for nurses, affecting hours of work, assignments, and much more. It also doesn’t outline any specific compensation—rather it notes that compensation for unusual working conditions related to the emergency will be determined by later discussion.
To be clear: to date no employer in the province has invoked Article 10. However, as the pressure on our health care system increases, and given the extraordinarily difficult circumstances many nurses are facing, MNU sought to reach an agreement for our members that would provide as much certainty and security as possible, along with some much-needed recognition.
This new MOA builds on previously negotiated MOAs, addresses a number of outstanding issues related to equity and eligibility, and enhances the premiums extended to nurses working in areas of critical need, who have had their schedules disrupted, or who have been redeployed.
Though employers still have the right to declare an Article 10, our hope is that this agreement significantly mitigates the need for such a declaration. Even in the event of a declaration, many of the provisions of this agreement will remain in effect, affording a degree of certainty and security for affected nurses.
The full text of the MOA is available here (PDF) and I encourage all nurses to review it.
Below are some highlights of key provisions:
The agreement and the premiums highlighted therein are retroactive to November 1, 2020, and most of the provisions will extend until the end of the pandemic, with some important exceptions noted in Section 7 regarding Personal Care Homes.
Again, members should refer to the full text of the agreement for details (PDF).
This MOA represents an important acknowledgement from government of many of the significant challenges that nurses have and will continue to face during this pandemic. Though we know there is still more to do to ensure all Manitoba nurses receive some form of recognition and support, this agreement is a critical first step in the right direction.
Rest assured discussions with government will continue, and we hope to have more to share on PPE and other important matters with members very soon.
We will continue to advocate forcefully on behalf of nurses, and we will share further developments as we are able.
If you have questions about the application of the new MOA, please contact your LRO or Local/Worksite President.
In solidarity,
Darlene Jackson
President
Manitoba Nurses Union