Nova Scotia Conservative Premier Rodney MacDonald says he’s determined to introduce legislation prohibiting strikes by the province’s health-care workers.  The proposed (but as yet unwritten) act would impose binding arbitration in the event of an impasse in labour negotiations.  Since he heads a minority government, the bill would need some outside support if it is to have any chance of becoming law.  However, both the opposition NDP and the third-party Liberals say they are against the proposal.

If Premier MacDonald sticks to his guns, his government faces defeat in the Nova Scotia Legislature, potentially triggering a provincial election.

Premier Rodney MacDonald says he’ll forge ahead with a bill covering strikes in the health sector, despite learning this week he doesn’t have the necessary opposition support.

Mr. MacDonald said Thursday that he doesn’t have the details yet, but the legislation this fall would "protect the health and safety of Nova Scotians."

Since the province already has a severe shortage of nurses and other medical professionals, making it more difficult for them to engage in free collective bargaining seems an odd strategy to pursue.  How encouraging nurses to move elsewhere to work will “protect the health and safety of Nova Scotians” is beyond me.

A search of job openings for registered nurses at Nova Scotia hospitals indicates that RNs are paid between $20 and $30 per hour.  That appears to make Nova Scotia nurses among the lowest paid in Canada.

In May 2006, BC nurses received a major pay raise, bringing their minimum earnings to approximately $25.50 per hour, not counting thousands of dollars in signing bonuses for full-time nurses.

In July 2007, Alberta nurses signed a new contract that will make them the highest paid in Canada within three years.  The top rate for senior nurses in Alberta is set to rise from the current $37 per hour to $43 per hour.

Even Yukon nurses earn far more than their counterparts in Nova Scotia.  The current minimum wage for nurses at Whitehorse General Hospital is $27.61 per hour.  That’s for brand-new nurses fresh out of university.  Senior nurses with ten years’ experience earn $40 per hour or more.  I might add that the current contract covering WGH nurses expires at the end of the year.  So, they can expect a round of pay increases soon.

Yet, the province of Nova Scotia pays up to only $30.  No wonder the province doesn’t have enough nurses.  No wonder it has a long history of labour unrest with its nurses.

“This issue is not about money; what this issue is clearly about is public health and safety," MacDonald said.

Spoken like a true tightwad.

Get a clue, Mr Premier.  Your proposal to ban health-sector strikes is just a cover-up for the province’s failure to pay a competitive wage.  If you are really serious about dealing with the nursing issues in your province, give them a big raise.

If the premier does not get his head out of the sand, more Nova Scotia nurses will be heading out west.

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