Health Support Bargaining Update: Tentative Agreement Reached, Ratification Votes to be Scheduled

Dear member,

In the early hours of Tuesday, August 16th, the Health Support Bargaining Unit (Unifor, NSGEU and CUPE) reached a tentative agreement that they are recommending for acceptance to the membership.

The parties met for nine days, which was particularly challenging with each wave of COVID-19 and subsequent gathering restrictions. After being unable to reach a deal in May 2022, the parties agreed to the appointment of a Conciliation Officer. The bargaining committee and employers met for three days of conciliation – July 19^th, July 28^th and August 15^th – and with the assistance of a Conciliation Officer finally reached a deal.

The package includes what the committee feels is a suitable wage and language improvement. Please watch for notices for dates, times and locations for ratification votes where you will receive more details of the agreement and have an opportunity to vote on this agreement.

The Health Support Negotiations Committee appreciates the patience and support you have shown throughout this process.

Gina Boyd, Chief Negotiator, gboyd@nsgeu.ca

Joseph Boudreau, jboudreau84@yahoo.com

Christian Collins, cbj@eastlink.ca

Robert Forbes, rjfsmalljobspecialist@msn.com

Raymond Theriault, codeman@ns.sympatico.ca

Gary Slaunwhite, garywslaunwhite@hotmail.com