Almost 3,000 health care workers went on strike Friday morning at nine Community Care Access Centres across Ontario, after rejecting a contract offer Thursday night.

The strike hit nine of the province’s 14 centres, all of which have workers represented by the Ontario Nurses’ Association: Central, Central East, Erie St. Clair, North East, North Simcoe Muskoka, North West, South East, South West and Waterloo Wellington.

Employees at the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant centre voted in favour of accepting the offer.

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In the GTA, the strike will affect centres in North York, York Region — including Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Markham and Newmarket — Scarborough and northern and western Durham region, including Pickering and Ajax.

The strike does not affect the Champlain, Central West, Mississauga Halton and Toronto Central centres, where employees are not represented by the ONA.

During the strike, the centres will be open to patients, families and the general public, according to a statement released Friday. The centres will “continue to work closely with hospital partners to ensure patients are able to transition home from hospital safely.”

Service providers contracted through the centres will continue to provide home care and services such as personal support, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and social work, among others, in keeping with patients’ care plans, said Megan Allen-Lamb, CEO of the North Simcoe Muskoka centre.

New patients referred to centres affected by the strike will be triaged so those with the greatest need and most complex cases will get prioritized, said Allen-Lamb.

“We have staff that are not represented by ONA. We have redeployed them to different positions within the CCAC, ensuring that we are able to take calls from our patients throughout the labour disruptions and handle any patient calls that come in through the CCAC,” she said.

Patients will continue to receive care in homes, schools and clinics without interruption, while those waiting for a room in a long-term care home will be contacted as soon as one becomes available.

Health-care workers picketed across the province, carrying signs reading, “Protect patients not profits,” and “Honk if you love nurses.”

In Toronto, strikers marched outside the CCAC office at 45 Sheppard Ave. E.

“We are ready to return to the bargaining table at any time to negotiate a settlement and are committed to negotiating agreements that are fair, responsible and reflect our commitment to providing high-quality service with the prudent use of public funds,” Allen-Lamb said in the news release.

According to a news release sent out by ONA Friday morning, its bargaining units are seeking wage increases equal to the percentages given unionized workers in the hospital, public health and long-term care sectors.

CCAC nurses and co-ordinators receive a range of salaries, said ONA media relations officer Sheree Bond. The ONA is asking for a 1.4-per-cent wage hike for its striking employees.

A two-year wage freeze was part of the last contract, which expired March 31, 2014.

“Shame on these employers for putting Registered Nurses, Health Care Professionals and our patients at risk by forcing us to withdraw our care,” ONA president Linda Haslam-Stroud said in the news release.

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“Government is relying more on community care as it pushes services out of hospitals, and the role that our CCAC members play in the system must be respected,” Haslam-Stroud said. “We are happy to return to the bargaining table as soon as these employers are prepared to recognize that our members are not second-class citizens.”

She said the strike sends a message to centre CEOs that they can’t “give themselves a large salary increase and then unfairly compensate the highly skilled, invaluable front-line workers who provide care.”

ONA has held its position on monetary issues since last spring, when negotiations started, claims the CCAC news release, adding that their offer included a combination of wage increases and lump sums, similar to those agreed on by employees represented by other unions.

Ontario’s 14 centres provided care to 700,000 patients last year.