BRUCE ASATO / NOV. 3
The Queen’s Medical Center and the Hawaii Nurses Association have reached a deal granting wage increases to some 1,400 registered nurses. Nurses Scotty Okura and Michelle Miller work in the Queen’s emergency room.
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The Hawaii Nurses Association reached an agreement this week with the Queen’s Medical Center to bump up wages by 2 percent retroactive to Dec. 1 for roughly 1,400 registered nurses.
The union nurses must still ratify the new three-year contract. Voting is scheduled for Friday at Queen’s Punchbowl and West locations.
"After many long hours of work, your volunteer negotiating team has reached an agreement with QMC management on our next contract," HNA President Joan Craft said in a memo emailed to the nurses Wednesday. "We believe it is a fair compromise in these challenging times and are recommending it to you for ratification."
Wage increases include:
» 2 percent effective Dec. 1.
» 2 percent effective March 1, 2016.
» 3 percent effective March 1, 2017.
The contract also provides differential pay for evening shifts, $1.50 effective March 1, $1.75 effective March 1, 2016, and $3.75 effective March 1 for night shifts.
"Our nurses are valuable members of our Queen’s ohana," said company spokesman Cedric Yamanaka. "The numerous contributions they make every day help Queen’s put our patients first as we continue to provide the best health care to the people of Hawaii for many years to come."
The existing nurses’ contract with Queen’s, set to expire Nov. 30, was extended through year’s end.