Both sides seem to be negotiating in a civil and professional manner! The SAHO is even defending the nurses against public attacks on them by some people. By the way negotiations are going it would seem as if a work stoppage will not be necessary. This is from canada.com
Wednesday » May 28 » 2008
SUN readies counter-off
SAHO head defends nurses
Saskatchewan News Network; Regina Leader-Post
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
REGINA (SNN) -- Union representatives for Saskatchewan's 7,200 nurses hope the updated package they presented Tuesday night will bring a successful conclusion to negotiations.
"We're feeling pretty confident that this is the basis of a collective agreement and we're really hopeful the employer will see it as that and accept it," said Rosalee Longmoore, president of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN).
Around 8 p.m., SUN delivered a package to conciliator Doug Forseth to take to the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO), the group representing health-care employers.
"We have agreed to the employer's proposal in one of the areas that was very important to us and are hopeful they will agree to the other one as we have proposed," said Longmoore.
At press time on Tuesday night, SAHO was reviewing SUN's latest package and had yet to respond.
SUN agreed to SAHO's position on the professional practice article, while the union wants agreement with their minimum staffing proposal -- both issues that Longmoore called "very technical."
"We have both come a long ways -- us from our original position and them from just saying 'no.' They have come a fair ways in both of those. We were trying to finalize language that would meet our needs on those articles," she said.
On Monday evening, SAHO's proposal was rejected by SUN. SAHO had dubbed it "the most positive contract proposal ever offered to Saskatchewan nurses," and said the total wage increase from 2007 rates over four years would be the equivalent of a 34.9 per cent increase for general duty nurses.
Earlier on Tuesday, SAHO President and CEO Susan Antosh came to the defence of nurses who have been publicly criticized as the dispute drags on.
Antosh said the association does not support some "really negative" comments about the nursing profession that she has seen written in online forums.
"A lot of that seems to be bubbling lately," she said.
Antosh said she was referring to negative comments about individual nurses or the nursing profession that members of the public have posted in web discussions and on blogs.
"I'm just a little concerned that people don't seem to be making that differentiation between this is a set of union negotiations where we're dealing with terms and conditions of employment but that shouldn't be carrying over into criticisms about nurses or about the nursing profession," Antosh said.
Saskatchewan Health Minister Don McMorris told reporters Tuesday that he remained confident a deal could be reached in the near future.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2008
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