A newly-elected NDP MLA has introduced a private member’s bill that would ban mandatory overtime for Manitoba nurses if passed.
NDP health critic Uzoma Asagwara introduced Bill 205, which would require that nurse’s employers stop using mandatory overtime as a routine, and would prevent licensing colleges from disciplining nurses who refuse to work overtime.
The Manitoba Nurses Union says mandatory overtime is a huge concern for its members and has become more prevalent as employers use it as a tool to address staffing shortages, that the union blames on the government.
The Union said that in the first quarter of 2018, nurses had already logged more mandatory overtime than all of 2017.
The private member’s bill is modelled on a law passed in New York that bans mandatory overtime, except in emergency situations.
As the bill was introduced by an opposition member, it is unlikely to catch the attention of the PC majority government.
The MNU is hoping to see a bipartisan approach towards the bill.
