Support Services Bargaining Unit Bargaining Update: Proposals Exchanged

Good afternoon,

Bargaining has commenced for a new collective agreement between the Council of Unions representing Support Services members and the Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSH) and Izaak Walton Killam Hospital (IWK).

Today, the Council of Unions and the employers exchanged proposals. This exchange marks the first step in bargaining a new collective agreement.

Over the last two months, your elected bargaining committee members have worked diligently on your behalf. They have met a number of times to develop proposals based on input from your bargaining surveys.

As a result of the new Health Authorities Act passed by the provincial government in 2014, which merged the nine district health authorities into one, all four unions (NSGEU, CUPE, Unifor & NSNU) now must bargain in four Councils: Health Care, Administrative Professionals, Support Services, and Nursing. The Support Services Council consists of members from Unifor, CUPE and NSGEU. Unifor appoints the Chief Negotiator and has three bargaining committee members, while NSGEU has five committee members and CUPE has three.

NSGEU’s representatives on this Council are:

• Darryl LeRoux (IWK, Local 124)
• Raymond Theriault (NSH, Local 119)
• Rob Forbes (NSH, Local 119)
• Christian Collins (NSH, Local 119)
• Joe Boudreau (NSH, Local 119)

The Council of Unions is also currently negotiating an Essential Service Plan (ESP) for your bargaining unit, as is required by legislation (Bill 1). As of today, the IWK Essential Service Plan is near completion. The NSH has provided us with a proposed plan for consideration, and we have scheduled dates to discuss and negotiate an Essential Service Plan that works for our members at NSH.

Additional dates for collective bargaining will take place December 14th, 15th and 16th.There also subsequent dates scheduled for January 25th and 26th, 2022. Your bargaining committee will keep you updated as we progress in this process.

The committee would like to thank the members for their continued support and solidarity as we bargain a new collective agreement.

If you have questions or concerns about the bargaining process, please contact the NSGEU by calling 1-877-556-7438 or email inquiry@nsgeu.ca.