Nurses will be voting on a new agreement after a long mediation process and an even longer time without a collective agreement.

Manitoba Nurses Union President Darlene Jackson says in a statement that a tentative agreement with their employers, the Province of Manitoba, has been reached. This comes after four and a half years without a collective agreement.

“Over the past year and a half, we have heard our members called pandemic heroes. We know our nurses have made huge sacrifices to keep our system afloat and more than deserve a fair collective agreement," she says.

Nurses will soon be learning the details of the new, tentative collective agreement before casting their votes. Webinars for union members will begin in the upcoming days. 

"There is still work to be done to address the significant weaknesses in our health care system, but the improvements in this contract are a necessary and positive first step in addressing nurses’ serious concerns.”

The mediation process took seven weeks.

"It was gruelling, but our committee never lost their determination to get a fair collective agreement for our members."

Jackson is thanking MNU's Provincial Collective Bargaining Committee and those involved in the process, including Mediator Arne Peltz.