Care home’s only nurse on strike over $4,000 salary gap

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This article was published 21/02/2024 (958 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The only nurse at a personal care home on a northern First Nation has gone on strike, but he can’t walk the picket line.

Since all of his colleagues at the home, on Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (Nelson House), have quit, he’s still working shifts.

“There is only one nurse there. Everyone else is gone,” said Darlene Jackson, president of the Manitoba Nurses Union. “He is working 14-, 12-hour shifts, in a row. He cannot work 24/7.”

Without him, the 24-bed facility would have to rely solely on nurses from private agencies.

Jackson said despite its isolation — 70 kilometres west of Thompson — nurses aren’t eligible to receive “isolation pay.”

“This is strictly a compensation issue. This is the only place they don’t pay the same rate up north. They have a real problem in recruiting and retaining.”

The nurse, who has worked at the care home for two years, is paid less than other northern nurses with the same experience.

The facility’s other full-time nurses up and left because of the pay gap.

“This is a long-term care facility for residents and they need continuity for their care,” she said.

“He is the only one they see on a continuous basis. The agency nurses go up only for a week at a time.”

Jackson said she doesn’t understand why the band is unwilling to pay more for full-time nurses when it has to shell out even more for private agency nurses.

“You have to pay the going rate,” she said.

Chief Angela Levasseur could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Jessie Horodecki, manager of the care home, gave a brief comment before telling the Free Press to contact the communications worker at the band office.

“We are currently using agency nurses to help fill spots where the nurse is not working,” Horodecki said.

Mary Lou Cherwaty, the union’s labour relations officer for northern Manitoba, said the annual salary of the Nelson House nurse is $4,000 less than a nurse in the same position would earn in Thompson.

The Thompson nurse would collect a few thousand dollars more in isolation and retention pay.

“When I started there were four nurses at the personal care home and now there is only one,” she said. “Not having continuity of care is a big concern. That’s why it is important to hire enough staff.”

Sue Vovchuk, executive director of the Long Term and Continuing Care Association of Manitoba, said she is working with educational institutions so they can tell nursing students that long-term care facilities across the province can be part of their career pathway.

“(Staffing) is a problem elsewhere, but certainly the challenge of staffing is magnified in northern and remote communities,” Vovchuk said.

“Continuity of care is important for everybody, but especially for seniors. While it is a priority, at the end of the day you want the shifts filled.”

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said the government has encouraged both sides to seek a speedy and fair resolution.

“Every nurse deserves fair wages and a supportive workplace.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca