Registered Nurse Salary Information - An Explanation of the Canadian Labor Union Pay Scale for Nurses

Registered nurse salary information and comparison of the various pay scales on the labor union collective agreements in Canada is best understood when hourly wage amounts are not viewed in isolation of all the other variables that affect the salary paid to a registered nurse.

Examination of the registered nurse salary information across the nation reveals that the labor union collective agreements have some similarities and also some differences that need to be understood in order to get the bigger picture of the salary information posted there.

Nurse salary amounts are always given in dollars per hour as this is how wages are negotiated and expressed in labor union collective agreements.  However, in order to determine the annual salary amount you must factor in the number of full time hours the nurse is working and when making comparisons of salary information make sure you also consider the the number of steps on the pay scale as well as the amount of annual vacation time.

Full time hours

A full time job for a registered nurse varies in the number of hours per year and ranges from 36 - 40 hours per week (1879 - 2088 hrs per year).  This can significantly affect the amount of money earned from the dollar per hour figure on the nurse salary payscale.

As an example British Columbia and Saskatchewan have virtually the same starting salary for a registered nurse of $26.90 per hour.  However, for the first step on the payscale the annual registered nurse salary in BC would be $50,569.27 while the annual amount in Saskatchewan would be $52,472.72.  Both nurses earn the same amount of money per hour but the registered nurse in Saskatchewan earns $1900.00 more per year because the labor union collective agreement defines a full time work week as 40 hrs, whereas the nurse in British Columbia is working full time with a 36 hour work week.  However, if the nurse in British Columbia were to work a 40 hour week then 4 of those hours would be paid at overtime rates (time and a half).

Steps on the Pay Scale

Each province has a variation in the number of steps on the payscale.  If there are only 6 steps on the scale you reach the top nurse salary quicker than if there on 9 steps.  As an example in Quebec in takes twelve years to go from a starting salary of $20.58 per hour to the top salary of $30.65.  In Saskatchewan you can start at $26.90 and reach the top registered nurse salary of $32.96 in only five years.

Annual Vacation Time

Vacation time is another consideration when examining nurse salary information because vacation time is paid time. Nurses who have more paid vacation time actually work less hours per year.  During the annual vacation time salary and benefits continue.

Annual vacation time varies from 3-4 weeks for the first year.  Vacation time generally accrues over time and in some provinces can reach up to 8 weeks per year after 20 or more years of continuous service.

Nurse salary information in Canada is readily available on the website of provincial nursing labor union.  Collective agreements and the negotiated pay scale for the current agreement are available for public perusal.

Nursing labor unions represent 62% of registered nursing jobs in Canada and virtually all of the nursing jobs in Canadian hospitals.  The similarity in the registered nurse salary across the country is a result of the constant surveillance of the recent advances in nursing collective agreements across the nation. Each provincial nursing labor union seeks to achieve wages and benefits for their own members that are comparable to those in other provinces. This helps to stabilize the nursing workforce as nurses are not tempted to leave their home province and seek better wages or benefits in another province.