New contract for HJ McFarland nurses

The municipality and the Ontario Nurses’ Association, representing nurses at the County-run H.J. McFarland Memorial nursing home, have renewed a collective agreement.

Highlights include a wage increase of 1.4 per cent effective April 1, 2018, and 1.75 per cent effective April 1, 2019; benefit improvements for vision care as well psychologist, registered psychotherapist, or social worker coverage; an increase in footwear and uniform allowance and a change in language to support efforts to hire new nursing graduates.

“The municipality respects and appreciates the hard work and dedication that nurses devote to the residents at H.J. McFarland Memorial Home,” said James Hepburn, the County’s Chief Administrative Officer. “Arriving at this negotiated collective agreement in such a timely manner is a testament to the mutual respect that the municipality and ONA have strived to foster over the past several years.”

The previous collective agreement expired on March 31, 2018. The municipality and the bargaining unit, which currently represents four full-time and six part-time nurses, negotiated the collective agreement renewal over two full-day sessions on Dec. 4 and 5, 2018. The new collective agreement is effective until March 31, 2020.