N.B. hospitals planning for potential nurses strike

The New Brunswick government is cobbling together contingency plans to deal with a possible nurses strike.

The New Brunswick Nurses Union will be holding a strike vote next month and could be in a legal strike position by Dec. 18. Although 70 per cent of the province's 5,500 nurses are designated essential, the province is working out a series of plans to limit the interruptions during any work stoppage.

Health Minister Michael Murphy said some non-emergency procedures would be cancelled if nurses go on strike.

"The nurses who remain on work focusing on, as I say, those who are in need of critical need or care," he said. "Elective surgeries will be cancelled. Diagnostics that are not urgent will be cancelled."

Murphy said the remaining essential nurses would focus on patients in critical condition.

That means people like cardiac patients, those in the emergency room, small babies in the neonatal unit or seniors in need of hospital care would get first priority.

Office of Human Resources Minister Rick Brewer said the department has offered a raise of 11.5 per cent, which would increasethe salary of nurses to $69,000 from $61,000.

Brewer says the province is still willing to move on other parts of the contract.

The nurses say they want the province to deal with long hours and poor working conditions. In particular, they say, too many nurses are working double shifts and significant overtime, and at times have only four hours to sleep between shifts.

Brewer said the province is willing to make changes to its 11.5 per cent wage package to include those premiums. However, Brewer said the province also has to be fiscally responsible during these tough economic times.