The president of the Registered Nurses’ Union says the new tentative contract agreement with the provincial government will make them competitive with the rest of Canada.

After lengthy negotiations, the RNU reached a tentative agreement on Friday night. The deal is now before more than 5,800 RNU members for ratification.

Yvette Coffey says the deal shows nurses they are valued. She says before the deal, nurses in this province were among the lowest paid in Canada, but the new tentative agreement will make them competitive with the rest of Atlantic Canada.

Coffey says lots of late nights and early mornings went in to making a deal happen. She says one morning they walked away at 4:30 a.m. and only slept for a few hours before getting back at it.

“All I was thinking was everybody here now got a glimpse of what it’s like to work a nightshift.”