June 6, 2016

Registered Nurses’ Union Extends Contract to June 30, 2017

St. John’s, NL – Registered Nurses’ Union Newfoundland & Labrador (RNU) President Debbie Forward announced today that the RNU has extended its contract to June 30, 2017.

The current provincial collective agreement was set to expire on June 30, 2016. However as neither the RNU nor the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador (Treasury Board) served notice to renegotiate per Article 49.01 of the current collective agreement, that agreement will now remain in effect until June 30, 2017.

“Our interpretation of the clause in our agreement is that notice must be given by one of the two parties involved between 120 and 30 days before the agreement expires, otherwise the contract continues for another year,” said Forward.

Recent membership research conducted by the RNU clearly indicated that Registered Nurses in Newfoundland and Labrador were not willing to accept a reduction in benefits in the next contract.

“Our Board considered the current fiscal environment and the priorities of our members and decided that extending our contract was our best option at this time,” said Forward.

“Extending our contract ensures we meet the priorities of our members, as well as provide some level of stability for our patients and the health care system in very uncertain times.”

The RNU has notified the Minister of Finance of its contract extension.

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For more information please contact:
Kristian Styles
RNU Communications Specialist
709-753-9961
709-727-8051
kstyles@rnunl.ca