The Ontario Nurses Association (ONA) says a decision to increase their wages by only 1 per cent is “insulting and demeaning” given that nurses have been at the front lines of the province’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses have been in an almost year-long fight with the province for wage increases since Premier Doug Ford introduced Bill 124 in June 2019. On Wednesday, after an arbitration chaired by John Stout, the nurses and other health-care workers were informed they would only be “awarded” the 1 per cent increase. The Ontario Provincial Police settled on a 2.15 per cent increase after their arbitration process, with a promised annual increase of 2 per cent. “Bill 124 is designed to protect public sector jobs and vital frontline services, which are essential in our fight against COVID-19.”

Source: Huffington Post June 11, 2020 01:30 UTC