CCAC strike ends, sides agree to arbitration

Striking nurses in Sudbury and across the province will begin returning to work Tuesday, after it was announced by both sides over the weekend that a strike at Community Care Access Centres (CCAC) is over.

The sides have agreed to allow outstanding issues to be settled by a process known as interest arbitration, in which a third-party is brought in to evaluate arguments by both sides and hand down a binding decision.

The agreement came after talks resumed Saturday between the representatives of the nine striking CCACs and the Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA), with a mediator from the Ministry of Labour.

"We are very pleased that we will be able to resume our full range of care to patients," said Megan Allen-Lamb, provincial CCAC spokesperson, in a news release Sunday. "We thank our patients, and health care partners in the home, community, long-term care and hospital sectors for their patience and support through this time. We look forward to having our employees return to CCACs to resume their important work in providing care to patients."

The ONA, meanwhile, said in a release on its website that the two-week dispute could have been avoided entirely if their offer to go to arbitration had been accepted before nurses walked off the job on Jan. 30.

“During this strike, there has been a colossal waste of health care dollars as the employer spent taxpayers’ money foolishly on catered meals for management, overtime, strike-breaking security firms and high-priced lawyers, and who knows what else – with complete disregard for the public purse,” said ONA President Linda Haslam-Stoud in a news release.

“We always believed that our offer of several months ago to go to interest arbitration was fair and reasonable and best for our patients that we serve. Unfortunately, it took our members’ resolve when forced out on to the picket lines to bring the government and employers to their senses.

“The continual lack of respect shown by the Ontario Association of Community Care Access Centres and the CCAC employers has bled from the negotiating table to today with their premature back-to-work disclosure.”

In Sudbury, Diana Kutchaw, a labour relations officer with the nurses' union, said in a Jan. 30 interview with Northern Life the union suggested third-party arbitration to avoid a strike, but the employer rejected that plan.

“We're not asking for anything other than what our counterparts in other sectors of nursing have received in the last year.”

The agreement will end the labour disruption that affected nine of Ontario's 14 CCACs. The organization arranges for the care people need in their homes and communities across the province, including 700,000 people last year. Funded by the province through Local Health Integration Networks, CCACs handle a wide range of home and community services.

In a statement, Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins said the end of the strike was excellent news for nurses and patients alike.

"I am pleased that striking health care providers represented by the Ontario Nurses' Association will return to work on Tuesday,” Hoskins said. “We are committed to improving the experience of patients and their families and ensuring access to high-quality home and community care right across the province.

“We value the hard work of thousands of dedicated nurses and health-care professionals who provide such excellent care to those individuals.

“It is my hope that a resolution can be quickly reached to ensure that people can continue to access the quality home and community services they need now and in the future."