District Health Authorities Arbitration Continues!
Today (Monday, February 2nd), the four unions representing health care workers in Nova Scotia return to the arbitration process outlined under the Health Authorities Act (also known as Bill 1).
In late 2014, the Liberals passed Bill 1, which will force health care workers to join unions of a government-appointed mediator/arbitrator’s choice. It’s one of the worst pieces of labour legislation we’ve ever seen in Canada, and is a direct attack on the NSGEU. We plan to launch legal challenges to Bill 1, as we see it as an absolute infringement on the rights of 24,000 health care workers, including the right to freedom of association.
The process is scheduled to continue from February 2nd to 6th. Arbitration is open to the public, so members are welcome to attend (60 Sky Blvd., at the Quality Inn near the airport).
During the five-day arbitration process, the arbitrator has stated that use of social media from the hearing will be permitted, as long as it does not disrupt the proceedings. To help members better understand the process as it unfolds, we are pulling together tweets regarding the proceedings and sharing them on a live blog, which you can find here: /bill1arbitrationliveblog/
Also, we will make every effort to provide members who are directly affected by Bill 1 with regular updates via email. Please keep an eye out for these updates and share information with your coworkers!
If you have questions or concerns about the arbitration process, please contact us by calling 902-424-4063 (toll-free 1-877-556-7438) or emailing inquiry@nsgeu.ca.