Nurses across the country will hold a Day of Action on Friday, in the hopes of putting the federal government on alert.
The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions and provincial nurses unions will hold protests or pickets at worksites.
President of the CFNU Linda Silas says nurses are done asking for basic respect, fairness, and safety, “Nurses have had enough. We just needed a way to express our frustration, but at the same time, some of our locals are going to be doing happy events, just to give themselves a break.”
Silas says more than a decade into a chronic nursing shortage, nurses and health care staff are overworked, underpaid, burnt out, and suffering moral distress, and the future of the health care system is on the line.
The CFNU states in every province, there is growing anger and frustration among the nursing workforce.
📣 Tomorrow is our day of action! 📣If you aren't joining an event, take action virtually. Here's how: take a picture…
Posted by Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU) on Thursday, September 16, 2021
Silas says they needed a way to express it, “Nurses and health care staff are overworked, especially in the pandemic, where overtime rates increased by over 78%. The general public doesn’t understand that emergency measures in the healthcare sector mean it is mandatory overtime. You are assigned to different units. Nurses are just plain tired.”
She adds, “Nurses are done asking for basic respect, safety, and fairness, now we are demanding government action, and we are united to fight for the fairness we deserve.”
