Nurses in British Columbia will visit the province’s largest hospital next week

The union representing nurses in British Columbia says it will stage demonstrations around the province’s largest hospitals starting next week as the strike escalates.

The BC Nurses Union said in a statement that it will strike at Vancouver General Hospital on Tuesday, five days after its members voted in favor of a strike.

The union says it will maintain essential services to protect patient safety, but remains opposed to all non-essential overtime and non-nursing tasks across the province.

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The union’s president, Adriane Gear, said nurses don’t want to be in line, but added that the provincial government can no longer ignore the demands of the health care system.

The union’s announcement came after 98.2 percent of nearly 51,000 nurses voted in favor of the job action and after 67 percent of members rejected the tentative agreement.

Jim Gould, who is the union’s chief executive, said it was up to the provincial government to come up with an offer that respected nurses.

“This government will not solve the nursing shortage without making serious improvements to nurses’ working conditions,” he said.