Arbitrator Orders New Collective Agreement for Civil Service

*This article appears in the Fall, 2025 edition of the Union Stand

Civil service bargaining concluded on September 11, with Arbitrator Karen Hollett ordering a new collective agreement, which was binding on both parties.
The lead up to this order included all bargaining being put on hold for a provincial general election. Once the newly elected government returned to the bargaining table, they remained firm on their goals to roll back key job security language and deny civil servants the previously established wage pattern.

In December 2024, both sides agreed to move the process to conciliation and after an impasse was reached the process moved to mediation where some progress was made.

Early in 2025, the employer presented an offer to the union. The bargaining committee strongly recommended that members vote to reject the offer. As NSGEU Sandra Mullen said at the time: “The government’s offer included significant concessions to important job security language as well as a wage package that does not reflect the current state of the economy and the impact that inflation has had people’s pocketbooks.”

The membership responded with an overwhelming rejection of the governments offer. Of those who voted, 99% voted to reject the offer.

The results sent a clear message to the Premier: civil servants want to be treated fairly and maintain the job security provisions they have traditionally had.

The union moved swiftly and applied to move the process to arbitration. The Labour Board appointed an Arbitration Board, with Karen Hollett named as Chair, Paul Cavalluzzo was named as nominee for the union and Noella Martin as nominee for the province.
Both sides met with the arbitrator to try and settle as many issues as possible ahead of a formal hearing scheduled for October.

In early September Arbitrator Hollett called all parties back to the table for another day of negotiations. The union came prepared and after a long day, the Arbitration Board had ordered an agreement, binding on all parties.

The new collective agreement included an 11.5% wage increase over four years, that when compounded over the life of the agreement amounts to a 12% increase. This is consistent with the previous wage pattern as settled in other agreements. The order also included all previous job security language, so members remain protected into the future. The full contract can be found on the NSGEU website.

The union thanks the tremendous work of the bargaining committee for their leadership and perseverance during a very long round of bargaining. The government, armed with a strong majority mandate, was focused on weakening the union and its members and tried to pay them less than what they deserved. The order by the Arbitrator was a win for working people and highlighted the strength of the union when it’s fully mobilized.

The next step is for members to receive their retroactive pay as the previous contract had expired on March 31, 2024.

Thank you to the members for being patient during this process. In the end and based on what the government wanted to roll back, this was an overall positive result for the members.