A provincial arbitrator gives nurses represented by the Ontario Nurses Association a new two-year contract.

It includes wage increases of 3% for this year and 2.25% in 2026.

However, neither the ONA nor the Ontario Hospital Association is happy.

The ONA says it pushes wages further behind what they should be.

It also states the ruling rejects basic job protection and gives hospitals free rein to pursue mass layoffs.

“Hospital employers and the provincial government have benefitted from more than 15 years of failed bargaining settled by arbitrators that serve the interests of employers, not nurses and working people,” says ONA president Erin Ariss.

“This decision once again puts the lie to the false promise that arbitration can deliver fairness without the right to job action. We wholly reject this decision.”

The ONA is most disappointed that its main issue, minimum staffing levels, was not addressed.

Aris says it sets a new low in bargaining for nurses.

“(The arbitrator’s) failure to deliver safe staffing ratios sends a clear message to Ontario nurses that we do not deserve the same safety in numbers that other front-line workers in dangerous professions – like police and firefighters – are afforded. It tells a workforce that is overwhelmingly women that the unchecked and brutal violence we face every day is acceptable, and our safety is not important.”

The Ontario Hospital Association is also disappointed, saying the award does not reflect the financial realities hospitals are facing.

“As a result of arbitration decisions in previous years, Registered Nurses have seen wage increases of 21.25 per cent over the last five years, bringing the average Registered Nurse annual salary to $112,476, with a total cost across hospitals of $1.139 billion,” the OHA states in a release.

The OHA insists that it has made progress on the staffing challenges with hospitals hiring 7,500 more Registered Nurses since 2019, with over 71,000 nursing positions now filled across the province.