Ontario Nurses' Association says bargaining with hospitals has broken down

Contract talks between nurses and the Ontario Hospital Association have broken down and will now head to arbitration, the nurses' union said Friday.

The two sides began bargaining in late January and mediation had started on Wednesday but no deal was reached.

"This round of negotiations has been incredibly difficult and frustrating," said Bernie Robinson, interim president of the Ontario Nurses' Association, in a news release.

"ONA's elected bargaining team went into talks with a strong and clear set of priorities that come from our front lines, and they have been met with an extremely disappointing and disrespectful response from the employers."

The news comes a day after hundreds of Ontario nursesrallied in Torontoto advocate for what they want to see in a new contract. The deal will affect about 60,000 registered nurses and other health-care workers.

Arbitration is set for early May, the association said.

The nurses, and other broader public sector workers, have been subject for three years to a wage restraint law known as Bill 124, which capped increases at one per cent a year.

WATCH | Nurses rally in Thunder Bayfor better wages, higher staffing:

Thunder Bay nurses rally to make their case for better wages, higher staffing

2 years ago

Duration 2:22

Nurses with the Ontario Nurses Association in Thunder Bay are making their case for better wages and higher staffing levels as contract negotiations with the Ontario government get underway.

An Ontario court found Bill 124 unconstitutional late last year, but the government has appealed the decision. The Court of Appeal is set to hear the case in June.

The Ontario Hospital Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Robinson said the union would have preferred to reach a deal through negotiations rather than arbitration. The last time that happened in Ontario for hospital-sector ONA members was 2011, the release says.

"What counts is a contract that provides better staffing levels, wages and benefits, so that we can provide better patient care," Robinson said.

Mediationcomes as the sector struggles to recruit and retain staff.The nurses do not have the right to strike, and Robinson previously said nurses will not engage in illegal walkouts.

Emergency rooms across the province struggled last summer, with many closing for hours or even days at a time.

Hospitals both big and small were affected but smaller, rural hospitals were hit particularly hard. A severe nursing shortage was the cause of many of those closures.

Hospital nurses currently earn $34.24 an hour as a starting salary, per their last contract, and are subject to a grid that goes up to 25 years, when they can earn $49.02 an hour. The current contract expires March 31.