Health Care Council of Unions Bargaining Update: Government Shows No Signs of Concluding Deal

Your Council of Unions bargaining committee last met in bargaining with employer representatives on June 19th. At that time, both parties filed for conciliation. It has been more than three weeks and the IWK and NSH along with the province have failed to offer a single date to continue bargaining.

Your Council of Union representatives have made it clear that concluding a deal as soon as possible is a priority given the state of health care. The union has told your employer it is available to meet at any point this summer to conclude a collective agreement on your behalf. Your employers and the government have shown no such urgency or willingness to negotiate.

Your Council representatives have clearly demonstrated at the table that most classifications within the Health Care bargaining unit are now amongst the lowest paid in Canada. Those low wages have contributed significantly to your employers’ inability to attract and retain workers, which in turn, has exacerbated staffing shortages, making your working lives more difficult, and jeopardizing patient care.

We are deeply distressed that government does not seem to understand the value of your work, and the necessity of concluding a fair deal as quickly as possible.

We have been hearing many stories about the impact of staff shortages and the desperate situation it is creating, both for patients and the workers faced with the moral distress of trying to deliver care under these untenable circumstances. We plan to begin sharing these stories to help government understand the critical nature of the work being done by you and your colleagues in the Health Care bargaining unit.

If you are upset about your working conditions and the government’s approach to bargaining, please reach out to your MLA and tell them to tell the Premier he needs to get back to the table ASAP: https://nslegislature.ca/members/profiles/contact

In the meantime, we remain committed to achieving the best possible deal on your behalf. We will update you as soon as we have received confirmed dates for conciliation.

If you have questions or concerns about the bargaining process, please contact a member of your committee as follows:

Local 195 Uta Berthold-Brush, utacbb1@gmail.com
Local 100 Veronica Drake, v.burke87@gmail.com
Local 100 Bria MacDonald, bria.mac@hotmail.com
Local 100 Shaun Naugle, naugle.shaun@gmail.com
Local 122 Peter Perry, pperry@nsgeu.ca
Local 122 Natalie Steele Quinn, natalie.steele@gmail.com
Lead Negotiator Lynette Johnson, ljohnson@nsgeu.ca