MEDIA RELEASE: NSGEU Demands Fairness for Housing Members 

The Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU) is calling on the Nova Scotia Provincial Housing Agency (NSPHA) to finally do the right thing and provide a rollover contract to all unionized employees working at the Agency.

More than four years after the province amalgamated five regional housing authorities into a single provincial agency, workers remain caught in a prolonged and unwanted labour relations process that has prevented them from receiving the wage increases awarded to other public sector employees. Since the creation of the Agency in 2022, members have been forced to navigate ongoing disputes over bargaining structure and the employer’s refusal provide the wage increases.

This isn’t a new idea: in fact, in 2023, this same employer agreed to a rollover that provided employees with economic increases of 3 per cent and 0.5 per cent while labour board issues were being addressed. There is no reason the employer cannot take the same approach now and apply the wage increases awarded through the Nova Scotia Civil Service arbitration decision.

“If it was the fair thing to do then, it is the fair thing to do now,” said NSGEU President Sandra Mullen. “They have waited long enough. The employer and government have spent years fighting to have housing agencies consolidated into a single bargaining unit, while members have continued to provide housing services to Nova Scotians through a housing crisis. They should not be penalized because the employer insists on unwanted changes to union representation.”

The NSGEU is seeking a rollover agreement that would provide all unionized NSPHA employees the first two years of economic adjustments dating back to April 1, 2024, and 2025 that was awarded to civil service employees and other public sector workers.
The NSGEU was recently awarded representation for the supervisors’ bargaining unit at the Agency and will proceed with collective bargaining for those members. However, regardless of the outcome of representation votes involving other groups of employees, a comprehensive bargaining process across the Agency remains a long way off.

 “Any union that secures the privilege to represent the other two bargaining units will need time to establish a new bargaining structure, review existing collective agreements, and address differences in wages, benefits, and working conditions. Employees should not be forced to wait any longer for increases they deserve today, especially considering our understanding that excluded staff at NSPHA have already received these increases”

Workers did not create this situation. The consolidation of the housing authorities was a government decision, and the Labour Board process was a decision made by the employer and was a decision none of the members asked for. All NSPHA workers deserve the same wage increases that have been extended to other public sector workers and they have waited long enough.”

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The Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union represents nearly 38,000 workers who provide quality public services Nova Scotians count on every day.

For more information, or to arrange an interview with NSGEU President Sandra Mullen, please contact:

Dave MacKenzie, NSGEU Communications Coordinator,
902-430-2524 (cell)   
dmackenzie@nsgeu.ca