Front Line Registered Nurses Celebrated Labour Day
4 Sept 07 -- Front line registered nurses from the Toronto area joined hundreds of union members marching in the city’s Labour Day parade.Pushing a hospital stretcher, the nurses – members of the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) – joined other health care union workers, among others, in the celebrations.
“Labour Day is a time to celebrate solidarity among union members,” notes ONA President Linda Haslam-Stroud, RN. “This year, nurses have more reasons to celebrate, as our long-standing safe needles campaign, conducted with our health care union partners, has paid off. Nurses and other health care providers will be safer from needlestick injuries, and the hard work our unions did to raise awareness and pressure the government for safe equipment has had results.”
Despite this success, ONA members continue to be very concerned about the severe nursing shortage that is occurring across Ontario. As one-third of all RNs in the province get set to leave the system, ONA continues to advocate for recruitment and retention initiatives in this province. Nurses are concerned that patients will pay the price if the nursing shortage is not more seriously addressed, and ONA has developed a series of recommendations to help alleviate the shortage. More information is available at www.stillnotenoughnurses.ca.
ONA Region 3 members marched in Toronto's popular Labour Day parade along Queen Street West and into the Dufferin Gates of the Canadian National Exhibition Monday.