Over 150 members of the Ontario Nurses Association (ONA) gathered outside St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton Thursday morning to advocate for care instead of budget cuts.
The rally temporarily shut down Charlton Avenue East between James and John streets, but it has now reopened.
This union, which represents about 68,000 health-care workers, is urging employers to reverse their staffing cuts and to establish safe nurse-to-patient ratios.
“There’s been more than 1,300 registered nurse (RN) job cuts in just over a year and the Ford government continues to do this in every sector of health care,” said ONA provincial president Erin Ariss. “Hospitals, public health units, long-term care homes – pretty much everywhere, every setting, we’re seeing them cut RN jobs.”
Ariss mentions that the morale among nurses currently working with patients is “absolutely abysmal” and that often one nurse ends up handling the workload of three or four nurses.
“They’re working in dangerous conditions, they are facing burnout and challenges, injuries like we’ve never seen before,” said Ariss.
This rally follows a protest by members of local labour union CUPE 786 last month over the loss of around 60 job positions at the hospital.
WATCH MORE: Job cuts at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton prompts union rally
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