All HGEA Units But Nurses Ratify New Contract

Six of seven HGEA bargaining units approved a new two-year contract Monday, with professional nurses holding out for a better deal.

“This is a clear reflection of the fact that wages for registered nurses in the public hospital system are woefully behind the private sector, and our public hospitals — which provide the bulk of acute care services on the neighbor islands — is simply not in a competitive situation with private facilities," said Randy Perreira, executive director of the Hawaii Government Employees Association, in a statement issued to reporters. "It is our hope that as we return to the bargaining table, the State Administration and Hawaii Health Systems Corporation take a realistic approach to bargaining a fair agreement with their nurses, or risk losing more staff because of the pay gap they are enduring."

Those who agreed to ratify the new contract include University of Hawaii employees, blue-collar workers and thousands of white-collar employees approved the contract.

A spokeswoman for HGEA told Civil Beat that the nurses will now return to negotiations.

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