“WRHA is committed to eliminating mandatory overtime, which is only used as a last resort when all other options have been exhausted to balance patient and staff safety,” said a spokesperson, noting WRHA is focused on reducing the existing nurse vacancy rate and lowering the number of overall overtime hours. “Those options include voluntary overtime, asking part-time nurses to pick up additional shifts and the use of casuals and the provincial float pool.”
However, excessive overtime is not strictly a Winnipeg issue. Data being compiled by the Manitoba Nurses Union show nurses in the province worked “well over a million hours of overtime last year,” said MNU President Darlene Jackson.
