Registered nurses at Lambton Public Health have a new contract with Lambton County.
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The three-year deal for more than 40 nurses working at the local public health agency was reached during conciliation that began in late October.
The Ontario Nurses Association (ONA) said wages, hours of work, and improvements to benefits were issues during the talks.
“It is good news, very good news,” said Warden Kevin Marriott. The new agreement was “very satisfactory” and “within inflation,” he said.
The previous contract between Lambton Public Health and ONA expired at the end of March.
Lambton Public Health is part of the county’s public health services division and provides family health, health promotion and health protection services to the county’s 11 municipalities. County council acts as the local board of health overseeing public health services.
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“The working conditions of nurses and health-care professionals are the conditions of care for patients,” ONA president Erin Ariss said in a news release. “When you improve their wages and work-life balance the whole community benefits.”
The association didn’t provide details of the contract, but Aris said, “I’m confident these changes will help retain nurses and ensure that they don’t fall even further behind.”
Lambton County museums hold Christmas open houses Friday
The Oil Museum of Canada and Lambton Heritage Museum are offering holiday open houses during Friday’s professional development day.
Events and activities aimed at families with children home from school will run from 11 am to 3 pm at the museums in Oil Springs and Lambton Shores.
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Activities at the Lambton Heritage Museum will include a Christmas cracker craft in the Rokeby School, a costumed interpreter in the museum’s Tudhop House, warm cups of wassail, a traditional holiday drink made from apple cider, and hayrides around the museum grounds.
At the Oil Museum of Canada, visitors can try candle-dipping, holiday-themed crafts, sample warm wassail and have a photo taken with a Victorian-era Santa.
“It’s the perfect way to kick-off the holiday season,” said Jessica Stevenson, marketing and events coordinator with Lambton County Museums and Archives.
Admission to the museums is free this year for county residents as part of the celebration for Lambton’s 175th anniversary.
The Oil Museum of Canada will also be collecting donations for the local foodbank at Friday’s event and food donations will be accepted in lieu of admission fees for non-county residents that day.
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