Unifor Celebrates National Nursing Week

TORONTO, May 11, 2015 /CNW/ - With more than 29,500 members in the health care sector across Canada, Unifor is proud to support National Nursing Week.

"Our health care system relies on the hard work of nurses, who practice collaboratively as a vital part of a team of dedicated health providers, and it is important that we recognize and honour their work during this week – and all year," said Unifor National President Jerry Dias.

"Health services continue to be moved out of the public system through federal government cut-backs and privatization, away from nurses and other health professionals, and are increasingly falling to families to provide care," said Dias. "This is not in the best interest of families or of nurses and health care workers."

With a federal election looming, this year is an appropriate time to take action to ensure our next federal government renews the Health Accord to ensure equity and consistency in health care funding and national standards.

"Our health care workers can't be the last on the list of priorities for either our federal or provincial governments," said Dias. "We can't accept that the people who care for us or our family members are being continually asked to do more with less and for less. The trend of ever-heavier workloads, overburdened caregivers, and unprecedented challenges accessing care must end. We can't achieve health and prosperity through austerity."

In recognizing the effort of nurses to our health care, National Nursing Week 2015 is being celebrated from May 11 to the 17, alongside International Nurses Day and Florence Nightingale's birthday on May 12.

With more than 408,000 regulated nurses in Canada, nurses are the largest of any health provider profession or occupation, and are the backbone of our health system. This week, we recognize their dedication and commitment as professionals and as vital members of the health care team who are working to make Canada a healthier nation.

To read the Unifor statement on National Nursing Week, please visit: http://www.unifor.org/en/whats-new/briefs-statements/statements

Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing more than 305,000 workers. It was formed Labour Day weekend 2013 when the Canadian Auto Workers and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers unions merged.

SOURCE Unifor

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