An independent arbitrator has awarded pay raises to about 16,000 unionized nurses and other hospital workers in spite of the Liberal government's public-sector wage freeze, the Star has learned.

Dozens of hospitals -- including Mount Sinai, North York General, Sunnybrook, and Toronto East General -- have been ordered to give Service Employees International Union (SEIU) members 2 per cent annual increases over two years.

Read the entire Toronto Star article here.