Compensation a key issue as Windsor public health nurses head to conciliation with health unit

Public health nurses with the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit are expected to picketon Thursday as their union heads into conciliation Friday in an effort to get a new contract.

The informationalpicket is scheduled to take place outside the health unit between noon and 1 p.m.

The nurses' contract expired in April, and several attempts at bargaining have so far led to an impasse, said Jill Zerbin, a registered practical nurse and the president of the bargaining unit.

Conciliation is a process in which a neutral third partyappointed by the Minister of Labourmeetswith the union and the employer in an attempt to conclude a collective agreement.

The union'smain concerns are wages, work-life balance and respect, Zerbinsaid.

"The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit nurses are some of the lowest paid nurses in public health in the province," Zerbin said.

Better wages needed to retain nurses

Public health nurses earned a starting wage of $36.30 per hour in 2023, according to the collective agreement with the health unit, posted on the Ontario Nurses Union (ONA) website.

Lambton Public Health nurses earned a starting wage of $34.94 the same year, and Haldimand Norfolk Health Unit public health nurses earned $33.17.

However most health units in southern Ontario paid public health nurses between $37 and $47 per hour in 2024, and about half paid them more than $40 per hour.

Zerbin said nurses need to be compensated fairly for their work if the region hopes to retain them.

"Wages are always something that nurses are looking at," she said.

Windsor-Essex hard-hit by COVID-19, union says

"They have to provide for their families."

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit declined to comment on the dispute, saying it is in active negotiations with the union.

The negotiations will impact more than 75 public health nurses.

The president of the ONA said in a news release that Windsor-Essex was one of the hardest hit regions in the province in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

'I'm always optimistic'

Public health nurses were on the front lines, often working weekends and evenings to support our communities, said Erin Ariss, a registered nurse and the ONA's provincial president.

"The employer has shared plans to expand their programs and services, adding to the workload of their dedicated nurses, all while refusing to pay them fairly," she said.

"This will do nothing to retain the skills and expertise of the nurses who keep Windsor-Essex residents healthy and safe."

Zerbin wouldn't specify exactly what the union is asking for or where the disagreements are with the employer.

Nor would she speculate as to whether or not the nurses could end up striking.

She would only say that they have the option to extend conciliation.

"I'm always optimistic," Zerbin said.

"I hope that this Friday will progress fairly, and we come to a conclusion."