Province reaches tentative agreement with two Nurses Union bargaining units
Agreement covers more than 6,000 workers, details being withheld pending ratification
The provincial government has reached tentative collective agreements with two bargaining units represented by the New Brunswick Nurses Union.
The two units include more than 6,000 registered nurses, nurse practitioners, nurse managers and nurse supervisors working in hospitals, public and community health programs, Ambulance NB and extramural programs.
"This tentative agreement represents an important milestone for our province and I thank the union for coming to the table in a spirit of respect and collaboration," Premier Blaine Higgs said in a news release Friday morning.
"We look forward to continuing to work together on our common goal of stabilizing our health-care system and improving it to ensure it is sustainable for the future."
The parties have agreed to withhold details of the agreements pending their ratification.
New Brunswick Nurses Union president Paula Doucet called the agreement "a step in the right direction," but noted there is much more to be done to improve health care in the province.
"We are pleased to have secured tentative agreements for two of our bargaining units," Doucet said in the release.
"There is still much that needs to be done to improve the working conditions for registered nurses and nurse practitioners, and to improve overall health care in our province; however, this is a step in the right direction."