Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services has confirmed that chemotherapy nurses in many rural areas are paid differently than those in urban centres.
PC leader Tony Wakeham first raised questions about the issue in the House of Assembly last week, asking why such pay discrepancies would exist.
In a statement to VOCM News, the health service says chemotherapy is administered in many rural areas in ambulatory treatment units, which offer a variety of other services. As such, those nurses have a different classification than those working on chemotherapy units. However, they do not provide details on what the difference in pay is.
Further, they say all staff positions are classified by the Treasury Board under the Job Evaluation system.
A written classification is provided based on a questionnaire completed by the employee, and if they disagree with the decision it can be appealed.