Four Medical Examiner Investigators have given notice to the Province that they won’t be taken for granted any longer by handing in their resignations or indicating they will take retirement rather than be paid the meager salaries they are currently receiving. Their supervisor gave her notice to retire a short while ago for the same reasons.
The four nurses, who represent more than half the total number of employees working in the Chief Medical Examiner’s office, attend homicides, suicides, suspicious deaths and hospital deaths. They are on-call 24 hours, often determining whether a body should be sent for autopsy. Their work involves working alongside police, talking to doctors, reviewing medical charts and speaking with the deceased person's family. The move by the nurses is something even the Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Thambirajah Balachandra, has told local media he supports and understands.
As things currently stand, the highly trained and specialized medical professionals are paid $10,000 to $12,000 less a year than nurses with similar experience.
The MGEU has been dealing with the Province on behalf of the nurses for more than a year now. The matter could possibly be resolved by the Manitoba Government if they were willing to come to the table with an offer for the nurses that would see their salaries raised to a more acceptable level- one that is in line with nurses with similar experience.
“It’s unacceptable that these specialists are being treated like this,” said MGEU President Peter Olfert. “Not only are these nurses being shortchanged by this government, so are police and families who have to deal with often difficult and extreme situations.”
The MGEU has a meeting scheduled with government officials next week. It is the hope of the union and the nurses that the matter can be settled before the Medical Examiner’s Office faces what would certainly be a crisis.
The four nurses, who represent more than half the total number of employees working in the Chief Medical Examiner’s office, attend homicides, suicides, suspicious deaths and hospital deaths. They are on-call 24 hours, often determining whether a body should be sent for autopsy. Their work involves working alongside police, talking to doctors, reviewing medical charts and speaking with the deceased person's family. The move by the nurses is something even the Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Thambirajah Balachandra, has told local media he supports and understands.
As things currently stand, the highly trained and specialized medical professionals are paid $10,000 to $12,000 less a year than nurses with similar experience.
The MGEU has been dealing with the Province on behalf of the nurses for more than a year now. The matter could possibly be resolved by the Manitoba Government if they were willing to come to the table with an offer for the nurses that would see their salaries raised to a more acceptable level- one that is in line with nurses with similar experience.
“It’s unacceptable that these specialists are being treated like this,” said MGEU President Peter Olfert. “Not only are these nurses being shortchanged by this government, so are police and families who have to deal with often difficult and extreme situations.”
The MGEU has a meeting scheduled with government officials next week. It is the hope of the union and the nurses that the matter can be settled before the Medical Examiner’s Office faces what would certainly be a crisis.