BCNU president disputes column
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Updated: December 18, 2009 4:32 PM
Editor:
Re: Nurses have outsmarted big labour (B.C. Views, Dec. 10)
Tom Fletcher seriously misrepresents my comments in his column. While I recognize the bargaining difficulties Licensed Practical Nurses will face next year, their opportunities in 2010 will increase significantly when they are represented by the BC Nurses' Union.
As I discussed with Mr. Fletcher, our first priority would be to lobby the government to move LPNs out of the Facilities Bargaining Association, where they are currently grouped with unlicensed health care support staff. Instead they should be recognized as professional nurses and take their place in the Nurses' Bargaining Association alongside registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses, for whom we negotiated labour market adjustments earlier this year.
That would be positive for nursing, positive for patients, positive for health care.
Fletcher also misstated my concern about the government's use of LPNs to cut costs. As LPN education and skills expand, there is no question they should be playing an expanded role in various areas of health care. My concern is that the priority issue in making staffing decisions should always be how best to meet the particular needs of patients. All too often that's not the case in the health authorities' haste to cut costs to meet arbitrary budget targets.
Debra McPherson, President, B.C. Nurses' Union, Burnaby
