Mississauga, Brampton and Ontario front-line nurses say Ford will give ‘retention bonus’

Front-line nurses in publicly funded facilities in Mississauga, Brampton and across the province, whose salaries have remained static during two stressful years of providing care during COVID-19, say they are getting a retention bonus.

The Ontario Nurses’ Association stated on Friday that after two meetings with Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister, they have negotated “a good-faith retention bonus.” All front-line nurses who work in publicly funded facilities will receive a $5,000 lump-sum payment, pending approval by the Treasury Board of Ontario.

However, ONA said the premier has not budged on repealing Bill 124, the 2019 act that caps annual salary increases at 1 per cent for public-sector nurses and most Ontario government employees. But ONA president Cathryn Hoy said there was a promise that several measures will be taken to fix the province’s nursing shortage, which has led to a spike in job vacancies and many intensive-care-unit nurses being overworked.

“While the Premier has not agreed to repeal Bill 124 — yet — we have negotiated concrete commitments to implement several measures to fix Ontario’s serious nursing shortage,” Hoy stated. “The government will resurrect the Late-Career Nursing Initiative, the New Graduate program, and will work with the Ontario Hospital Association to ensure exhausted nurses can take vacation. While the Premier has not agreed to repeal Bill 124 at this time, it is not off the table for further discussion and ONA will press the Premier on this issue.”

“We will continue to meet with the government and we are pleased with the commitment today to collaborate with ONA on ongoing programs to retain nurses,” Hoy added.

ONA President Cathryn Hoy, RN, has met with Premier Doug Ford for a second time and has negotiated a good-faith retention bonus for all front-line nurses in publicly-funded facilities. #onpoli https://t.co/CILFPZxIfy pic.twitter.com/YKCsnHxDoN

— Ontario Nurses' Association (@ontarionurses) February 11, 2022

ONA represents more than 68,000 registered nurses and health-care professionals, as well as more than 18,000 nursing student affiliates.

About 1 million public employees are affected by the two-and-a-half-year-old law. The Ontario PC Party has said the Bill 124 is “time-limited.” While it affects the majority-female nursing profession, municipalities, municipal boards, Indigenous communities and police services are among the areas of the public sector whose annual pay bumps are not capped.

Nurses did receive a 16-week pandemic pay bump in 2020, but professional associations such as the Registered Nurse’ Association of Ontario have continued to advocate for repealing Bill 124.

Birgit Umaigha, an emergency room and ICU nurse who has become an advocate for her profession, said the bonus would not provide an incentive for nurses to stay in the field.

“Instead of repealing Bill 124, the main reason nurses are quitting, Ford decides to provide nurses a one time retention bonus of $5000,” Umaigha wrote on Twitter. “No incentive to remain in the profession, just some refund from all the pay cuts.”

Summary of today's meeting with Premier Ford: Instead of repealing Bill 124, the main reason nurses are quitting, Ford decides to provide nurses a one time retention bonus of $5000. No incentive to remain in the profession, just some refund from all the pay cuts. #RepealBill124

— Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi 🇳🇬🇨🇦 (@birgitomo) February 11, 2022

Last month, two Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs, Brampton North’s Kevin Yarde and St. Catharines’ Jennie Stevens, both called on Ford and the Ontario PCs to repeal the bill.