Ok Straight from a nurses mouth, My aunt who has been an O.R. nurse for 25 years
3 things she is PO'd about, but is part of a union so nothing is done about it, and mouthes have to be kept shut, except she has quite a mouth, and loves to talk about what is wrong with the system she works in every day.
1 - Wages are OK for full time nurses,... it is the doctors who are taking advantage of working for essential services, ....they quit and we are screwed, they know that, and can pretty much demand almost anything and get it, because they will walk, and make a huge problem for the government, and we all will cry fowl.
2 - There is not a nurse shortage, this is a bull$hit ploy, the nurses have figured a way to make more money by saying this. They only put down they want to work part time like 20 hours. They are really working 40 + hours, which is full time. They should be paid full time wages..... Instead they are making time and a half and double time for any hours more than 20 hours. All stats you here about on the news is for full time nurses. Who in their right mind would put down full time when there is much $$$ to be made working part time and putting in longer hours? They still would only put in 40 - 45 hours like a regular shift.
3 - Benifit package...Mostly BC medical This is where my aunt might be a little biased, as she only talked about East Indian's she knew. Any person living under the same roof as a worker of the hospital union gets full medical coverage. It could be up to 50 people, If they are Imediate family, and living at your address, they are covered.
Here is some light shed of things you don't here on the news straight from a nurses mouth.
The rest is my opinion
It is true there is enough money to make health care work well, It needs to be managed better by the unions just like a bussiness on the stock exchange. Health care would be sunk if it was a stock. Health care should be run by the gov't, not unions. Unions just make the price go up, because some other worker from another province is getting more $$ or benifits. Gov't unions have it made, demand more money, better benifits, or walk, and you will get something better, than you have.
Yes Unions are to make a better working enviroment, The pay is good, and the benifits are what employees deserve. BUT DON\"T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ESSENTIAL SERVICES THAT US TAX PAYERS ARE PAYING FOR.