The province has announced a number of short-term initiatives for NAPE frontline healthcare workers in areas that face staffing shortages.
The initiatives look to recruit new employees and retain current healthcare workers under the NAPE banner.
They include a retention bonus targeting areas where there are retention and recruitment issues for a return-in-service commitment, reimbursement for licensing fees for some retired health care providers where licensing fees will be paid for those wishing to return to work, and double rate overtime, which aims to reduce delays in filling schedules and reducing the number of mandated and extended shifts and is available until January 31, 2023.
The health authorities will be reaching out to eligible employees in the next week.
Similarly, an incentive package with the Registered Nurses Union was brought in a couple of months ago.
According to Health Minister Tom Osborne, they have reached understanding with Allied Health and CUPE as well.
He says those deals are going through the approval process and will be spelled out “in the coming days” at which time a total dollar value for all the packages will be released.