Here are the details of P.E.I.'s new deal with its nurses

The P.E.I. Nurses' Union ratified a new deal with Health P.E.I. this week, and that deal will help with recruitment and retention in health care, the union president says.

Union members voted 83.4 per cent in favour of the deal.

"Very excited, relieved," said union president Barbara Brookins.

Island nurses were working for more than two years without a collective agreement, and the new deal covers a period dating back to March 2021. Coming this October will be pay increases and new incentives for working weekends and nights, as well as a bonus for committing to full-time positions.

"It's certainly competitive, and more, than a lot of our counterparts in Atlantic Canada," said Brookins.

"We weren't competitive at all before, and so these incentives on top of the salary rate will put us on rates where at least we can hopefully recruit some nurses that are graduating from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick this year."

New and increased incentives 

The four-year deal provides for a total increase of 12.7 per cent. This October nurse pay will go up double digits, making up for two and a half years without a new contract.

For nurses starting in acute care, that will mean pay going up from the current $34 to $42 per hour to $38 to $46. By the end of the agreement that will be $39 to $47.

In addition, increased and new incentives are in place to encourage nurses to take on more night and weekend work, and to work in units that have been struggling to find staff. 

The night and weekend incentive increases from $3 to $4 an hour, and a new incentive allows Health P.E.I. to offer an additional $1.25 an hour in designated units. These incentives stack, so working a weekend night in a designated unit could mean an additional $9.25 per hour.

The full-time work bonus is worth $5,000 a year.

The full-time bonus will help create stability in the workforce, said Brookins, and the new deal will go a long way toward both recruiting and retaining nurses.