New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt says nurses signing on to a new contract will receive a $10,000 signing bonus as part of an effort to recruit and retain more to the health care professionals.
Holt announced on Tuesday that 9,950 nurses will receive the incentive, as a one-time payment. It was one of Liberal’s campaign promises.
According to the release, the offer will go to permanent full-time nurses as a first step in addressing the ongoing nursing staffing shortages.
“Nurses play a critical role across our health-care and long-term care systems here in New Brunswick,” said Holt.
Holt held a Q&A about the retention payments, saying during a media availability, she heard a lot about how nurses are working within the current system. She said she felt she was able to clarify a lot of the questions they had.
Part-time nurses, she explained, will get a prorated amount based on their hours.
Holt said she heard from a lot of nurses during a recent Q&A who were grateful for the payment. (GNB)
According to the government, agreements have been signed with roughly 9,950 nurses through the New Brunswick Nurses Union. Those are for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, nurse practitioners, nurse managers and supervisors working in the regional health authorities and with Extra-Mural / Ambulance New Brunswick.
As well, in long-term care, the nurses’ union has signed a letter of agreement for registered nurses.
Holt said it is still working with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which has yet to sign for the more than 1,000 licensed practical nurses they represent who work in long-term care.
“We did want to make sure it was clear that this extends to long-term care, where we have those mirror relationships with the NBU and with the NBNU, and people nursing in long-term care are covered and that’s clear,” she said during media availability.
The one-time lump-sum payment will be made on Dec. 31, subject to tax deductions. According to the government, the total cost of providing the retention payments is $83 million, of which $23 million was previously budgeted.
“I am pleased that our government can deliver on this commitment so quickly, showing our respect to nurses in a meaningful way,” said Health Minister John Dornan. “One of our priorities was supporting the delivery of these payments. We are pleased to be making progress on that initiative as we strive to improve working conditions and support wellness, as part of a multi-pronged approach.”
Holt said she heard a lot about the challenges facing health care workers across the province, both during the campaign and as she embarks on her first term as premier.
“Working short-staffed,” she said. “The challenges of the volume of people that are coming in to get care because they don’t have any other option. And what we heard today on the Q&A – that I think had over 600 participants – was a significant amount of gratitude messages of thanks.”
She said many were grateful for the payments, which include a $5,000 further payment in 2025.
“We’ve heard horror stories about the challenges that nurses have faced,” she said. “I’ve been taking every opportunity to connect with them like I did the day after the election to make sure that we really understand what’s going to work in terms of making the system better and retaining the nurses that we have so that we can then attract more people into a system that’s getting stronger.”
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