OP-ED: NB nurses deserve a fair collective agreement

On December 31, 2023, the collective agreements for nurses across New Brunswick expired — covering those in hospitals, nursing homes, Public Health, Mental Health & Addictions, and the extra-mural program. Since then, nurses have waited far too long for a fair deal.

The Conservative government tabled a tentative agreement for Part III nurses in September 2024. Days before the provincial election, nurses rejected it. That decision sent a clear message: the offer didn’t meet the needs of a workforce stretched to its limits.

Before NBNU returned to the bargaining table in July, Horizon Health Network disrupted the process by announcing “transformative changes” to Public Health and Mental Health & Addictions. Their plan would have reassigned 90% of public health nurses to hospitals and replaced them with licensed practical nurses (LPNs) — a major shift in service delivery made without consultation. NBNU filed a complaint with the Labour and Employment Board, pointing to this act of bad faith bargaining.

After public backlash and pressure from the Premier, Horizon backed down. But the damage was done. Nurses across the province were left wondering: could this happen again?

They shouldn’t have to. Nurses deserve stability, respect, and an employer and government that values their expertise — not one that treats them like interchangeable parts in a broken system.

When NBNU returned to the table in July, we did so in good faith. But after five days, it was clear we couldn’t reach a tentative agreement. We paused negotiations, still committed to finding a fair resolution.

Meanwhile, other public sector unions were reaching and ratifying agreements. Nurses were left behind — again.

The truth is, no amount of reshuffling will fill over 1,000 nurse vacancies across New Brunswick. The province’s own “critical state” measure proves it. Intended to ease hospital overcrowding by prioritizing nursing home placements for alternate level of care (ALC) patients, the measure saw 59 patients discharged — only for those beds to be filled again almost immediately.

This isn’t a solution. It’s a symptom. We don’t have enough nursing homes, enough beds, or enough nurses. And we’ve known the boom in demand from an aging population was coming for decades. As I said last year:

“The mess we are in could have been avoided…These circumstances don’t happen by accident. They are the result of several consecutive governments’ disrespect for the nursing profession.”

New Brunswick now holds the worst retention rate for young nurses in Canada. Eight out of ten leave the profession before age 35. That’s an 80% attrition rate in one of the most in-demand fields. The province’s response? Inadequate at best.

High demand should mean better treatment. Instead, nurses face burnout, understaffing, and a lack of meaningful support.

This isn’t just about nurses. Other public service workers have faced similar challenges. Library workers, for example, were recently issued layoff notices across three school districts — a move that led CUPE New Brunswick to file a bad faith bargaining complaint. Those notices are now being rescinded, but they should never have been issued in the first place.

It begs the question: why is New Brunswick’s labour force being treated so badly?

It’s worth reflecting on a broader pattern: many of the professions most affected by these decisions — nursing, education, libraries — are staffed predominantly by women. While this isn’t the whole story, it does raise important questions about how we value female-dominated labour in this province. We can say many good things about New Brunswick, but the fact remains: our province isn’t exempt from the climate of misogyny that has reached every corner of the world.

We’re returning to the negotiating table on September 2. Our goal is simple: a fair agreement for nurses.

This government’s goal should be to end the cycle of disrespect for nurses that has run rampant for decades. Our healthcare system can’t afford to lose them — and neither can you.

Paula Doucet
President, NBNU