an end last night when they agreed to accept the latest offer from hospital chiefs, The Royal Gazette can reveal.

General Secretary of the Bermuda Public Services Association (BPSA) Ed Ball said that after much deliberation and many weeks of uncertainty, the Island's 600 nursing staff had decided to agree new terms.

But he warned that nurses in Bermuda were still being paid less than their counterparts in the US and said he would continue to fight on their behalf at pay negotiations later this year.

Speaking exclusively to The Royal Gazette , Mr. Ball said: "The nurses of the Bermuda Health Board have voted to accept the board's most recent offer.

"The ten year bonus was returned, pension benefits were achieved for guest workers, and the Continuous Learning Plan, which is a performance appraisal instrument, is not linked to yearly salary increases.'' But he said it was not an easy decision for the nurses to make.

He added: "The offer was accepted under extreme duress as the nurses are still earning less than $30 an hour.

"The nurses recognise that the salary increase for the allied health professionals would be in jeopardy if they did not accept the board's offer, as they are linked.

"By no means does this acceptance of the board's proposal mean the nurses are content.

"The BPSA will continue the fight for improvements in nurses salaries and terms and conditions of employment at the bargaining table in June this year, where the talks will be frank.

"We are anticipating that the board will endeavour to continue to monitor world trends in the shortage of nurses and strive to keep abreast of the working conditions of nurses.'' Scores of nurses marched through Hamilton in mid-December to draw attention to their fight for better pay and conditions.

Nurses agree pay deal They handed a statement to Health Minister Nelson Bascome on the steps of the House of Assembly and said it was time they were given more respect.

Among their gripes was the proposal by the hospital's board to take away their annual bonus, which had been agreed ten years' ago.

But there were also issues over pension benefits of expatriate workers and unfair pay rates for the different scales of nursing staff.

And Mr. Ball also raised concerns over nurse shortages, which was a problem the world over.

But he said unless Bermuda got to grips with the issue, nurses would not come to the Island to work, and would not stay in the profession here.

A series of talks were held between union and hospital chiefs, which resulted in the latest proposal being offered last Wednesday.

Mr. Ball took that offer to union members, who eventually agreed to accept it.

Last night, the board's new chairwoman Ianthia Simmons-Wade said she was glad the dispute had finally been brought to an end.

She said: "We found out late this afternoon that the nurses had accepted the offer.

"I think the Bermuda Hospitals Board is extremely pleased that the nurses agreed to accept our offer, bringing this to a speedy conclusion.

"I think the community can be assured that the board and the BPSA are committed to working together in the best interests of the hospital, the employees and the community.

"On behalf of the board, I would like to express our sincere appreciation to all of the employees for their continued commitment, loyalty and dedication to our hospitals and patients.

"Working together will enable us to successfully deal with the many challenges facing our health care system.

"We are doing the best we can to ensure that all of our employees are being paid what they duly deserve.'' She said the nurses were given pay increases equivalent to one or two steps up the scale, and said the board was eager to attract people to the profession of nursing on the Island, either from home or overseas.

But she said she was unsure what Mr. Ball meant when he said the nurses agreement was linked to the deal accepted by the allied health staff, such as x-ray technicians, last year.

She added: "The allied staff accepted our initial offer last November, which again saw them go up one to two steps. I do not understand what Mr. Ball means.

"The nurses negotiations did not have anything to do with the allied staff.

Whether they had accepted or not, it would not have jeopardised the allied staff.'' UNIONS UNS