More than 50,000 nurses across British Columbia have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action, giving the BC Nurses’ Union its strongest strike mandate in history amid stalled contract negotiations with provincial health employers.

The union announced Tuesday that 98.2 per cent of participating members voted in favour of job action during a provincewide strike vote held May 8 to 11.

Union leaders say the result reflects growing frustration among nurses over staffing shortages, workplace safety concerns and what they describe as a lack of progress at the bargaining table.

“This vote is a defining moment,” said Adriane Gear, president of the BC Nurses’ Union and chair of the Nurses’ Bargaining Association provincial bargaining committee. “Nurses across British Columbia are demanding the respect, safety and fair contract they deserve.”

The strike mandate follows six months of negotiations between the Nurses’ Bargaining Association and the Health Employers Association of BC. According to the union, many proposals aimed at improving patient care and working conditions were rejected by employers.

The union says key issues include unsafe staffing levels, heavy workloads, workplace violence and occupational health and safety concerns.

Formal negotiations broke down on April 20, when the bargaining committee declared an impasse.

“Nurses do not want to be in this position,” Gear said. “Yet they are prepared to fight for the future of nursing and for a health-care system that is safe, sustainable and able to retain the nurses that patients rely on.”

The dispute comes as the province continues implementing minimum nurse-to-patient ratios, a long-promised reform aimed at improving patient care and reducing burnout among health-care workers. However, union leaders say progress has been hampered by thousands of unfilled nursing positions across B.C.

“Nurses need a contract that respects the critical role they play in keeping this health-care system running,” Gear said. “This is about securing the best possible contract that will retain and recruit the nurses the system needs now and in the future.”

The vote does not automatically trigger a strike, but it places nurses in a legal position to take job action if negotiations fail to advance.

The BC Nurses’ Union says the result strengthens the bargaining committee’s position as talks continue with employers and the provincial government.

No immediate response from the Health Employers Association of BC or the provincial government was included in the union’s announcement.