Health-care workers' strike at a stalemate

Jenny Yuen, Toronto Sun Feb 1, 2015

, Last Updated: 7:20 PM ET

TORONTO -- Talks have stalled in the labour dispute involving 3,000 home and community health-care workers who went on strike Friday.

Spokesmen for the Community Care Access Centres and the Ontario Nurses Association the union which represents the striking workers each said their respective negotiators are ready to return to the bargaining table.

However, there were no plans to do so on Sunday.

The ONA is seeking a 1.4% wage hike over two years. The striking workers last two-year contract, which expired March 31, froze wages.

"We truthfully believe that our nurses who have taken pay freezes over the past two years and have tried to negotiate over the last year have had a recommendation from the CCAC to take more pay freezes and that isn't something we can talk about," ONA vice-president Andy Summers said Sunday.

"We're asking for 1.4%, same as every other health-care worker and registered nurse out there. We're not asking to blaze a trail. We hope the government is going to intervene shortly and instruct the CCAC to start negotiating a fair wage increase ... we are starting to make preparations for this to go on for weeks. We hope not months, but we have to start preparing for that."

Nine of the province's 14 centres -- including Central, which incorporates seven hospitals including North York General Hospital and ones in Newmarket, Markham, Richmond Hill, Vaughan and parts of Etobicoke -- are affected by the strike, however, the other five - including Toronto Central and Mississauga Halton, where employees are not represented by ONA - are not affected.

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Health-care workers' strike at a stalemate

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