HYANNIS – Nurses at Cape Cod Hospital and Falmouth Hospital are picketing today over their contract dispute with Cape Cod Healthcare.
Pickets will take place at Falmouth Hospital from 7 to 9 am, with afternoon pickets set at Cape Cod Hospital from 2 to 4 pm.
Despite the pickets, management is expressing optimism that a deal can be reached.
“We’re going to be able to pull this together, and we’re optimistic that we can reach and agreement and move forward with what we do best, and that’s taking care of our patients,” said Cape Cod Healthcare Senior Vice President of Communications Patrick Kane.
The contract negotiations have been taking place for over a year.
Nurses have argued against the company’s mandatory overtime policy, saying it results in nurses being overworked, harming the care of patients. Management doesn’t see it that way.
“Less than one percent of total hours are mandatory overtime, so we’re a little surprised that they’re picketing about that because it’s not an issue,” Kane said.
Nurses have also argued against the company’s float pool policy, and have expressed concerns about security at the hospitals.