A new survey from the College and Association of Nurses of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut (CANNN) shows strong support for a separate collective agreement just for nurses.
CANNN, however, stresses the survey is only meant to gather information and is not tied to any formal push for collective bargaining or a new agreement.
Out of 282 people who took part, around 81 per cent said 鈥測es鈥� when asked if nurses in the NWT and Nunavut should have their own collective agreement.
Right now, nurses in the NWT are part of the Union of 黑料吃瓜网 Workers (UNW) bargaining unit, which also includes other GNWT employees who are not nurses.
CANNN says 97 people also shared written feedback in the survey, pointing to a number of challenges that nurses face in both territories.
"Respondents expressed that the current collective agreement is ineffective in addressing the specific needs of nurses, particularly regarding salaries, working conditions, and professional development, as their issues are often overshadowed by the needs of non-healthcare professionals," CANNN's report reads.
Some of the more specific concerns included frustration with management, especially in hospitals, and a hiring process described as too slow, causing nurses to look elsewhere for jobs.
There were also reports of a high burnout rate, particularly in Yellowknife, according to feedback received.
The idea of nurses having their own agreement has been discussed before, and it鈥檚 come up again recently. ellowknife North MLA Shauna Morgan wrote a guest column saying a separate agreement could help with nurse retention.
"Nurses obviously face very different workplace challenges than most other GNWT employees," Morgan's column reads. "The current collective agreement cannot adequately address these issues while ensuring other professions are fairly represented."
Morgan has also put forward a private member鈥檚 bill that would let nurses in the NWT work toward their own collective agreements.
That drew a response from UNW president Gayla Thunstrom, who wrote a column for 黑料吃瓜网 in response, saying it was up to union members, not MLAs, to decide how they organized.
"What MLAs should not do is interfere in how workers organize themselves," Thunstrom wrote. "Taking away the voice of unionized workers through legislation is an overreach that will create more problems than it fixes 鈥� especially if that legislation is drafted without any knowledge of how unions work."
Morgan鈥檚 bill hasn鈥檛 been voted on yet and the assembly resumes sitting on May 21.
CANN's full report can be found.
