B.C. nurses to halt picketing as mediation talks begin

RICHMOND – The BC Nurses’ Union entered mediation in its dispute with employers on Monday, with picketing set to end Tuesday night in recognition of the process.

President Adriane Gear said the appointment of mediators was a positive development in the dispute, which had recently seen escalations in job action.

“But I do say that with guarded optimism,” she told reporters in Richmond, B.C. “At this time there’s been no word that government has authorized anyone going outside of the government-imposed mandate.”

As talks with the Health Employers Association of BC got underway, Gear said the lifting of pickets was a demonstration of good faith by the union.

A provincewide ban on non-nursing duties and a restriction on overtime remained in effect, though Gear said the union had not denied any requests for overtime.

“The job action does require the employer to get prior approval from the union, so we’re collecting (statistics),” she said, adding the union has found nine of 10 overtime hours being requested were “just to meet baseline staffing.” 

A picket line was put up at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital earlier Monday, while pickets were set up in Vancouver and Surrey last week.

Gear said another would go up at Victoria’s Royal Jubilee Hospital on Tuesday, but all pickets would be coming down by 9 p.m. that night.

“Now, I want to make it crystal clear — we are taking down the lines to demonstrate our commitment to this process and our resolve to get a collective agreement,” she said.

“What we will not tolerate is further intimidation and retaliation (against) our members.”

Gear said the union had received more than 3,700 complaints from staff related to intimidation by employers, who the union has previously accused of using coercion and making threats against staff for refusing non-nursing duties.

She said members had reported managers threatening to discipline them or report them to their governing body, the BC College of Nurses and Midwives.

“We are watching, and if that continues, then we may have to escalate things again.”

Veteran mediators Vince Ready and Amanda Rogers were appointed on Friday to help settle the disagreement between the nurses and the employers.

The Ministry of Health said in a statement that it would not release any further details out of respect for the mediation process, while the health employers association did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The union, which represents 60,000 nurses across B.C., was entering mediation with “cautious optimism,” Gear said, but there was still significant work ahead on issues including staffing levels, workloads, safety and compensation.

“If I had to pick one thing, one umbrella, I would say it’s around retention and recruitment,” she told reporters.

“Right now, on any given day, we have over 4,500 nursing vacancies and that … goes up as high as to 6,000.”

Addressing violence against nurses at work is another key issue, Gear said.

Limited job action started July 2, after nurses voted to reject a tentative agreement on a 12 per cent wage increase over four years and other improved benefits.

Jim Gould, the nurses union CEO and chief negotiator for the nurses’ bargaining association, said in a statement that the bargaining committee was approaching mediation with the same determination nurses had shown throughout the dispute.

“We are entering mediation in good faith because we believe it presents an important opportunity to make meaningful progress at the bargaining table,” Gould said.

“While we are pausing picket lines to support this process, our resolve has not changed, and we remain prepared to take whatever steps are necessary to achieve the contract B.C.’s nurses deserve.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2026.