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After months of difficult negotiations and major labour relations disputes, NSGEU/NUPGE registered nurses vote to accept Capital Health's final offer.
Halifax (17 Oct. 2014) — After many months of painful negotiations with Capital Health, and interference by the Liberal government, the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU/NUPGE) leadership decided to take the employer’s final offer forward to registered nurses once again for a vote.
NSGEU/NUPGE registered nursing members at Capital Health ratify final offer despite on going concerns about staffing and patient safety
“In the spring, the employer refused to negotiate in good faith, choosing to hide behind the government and the Essential Services legislation they introduced, which severely diminished nurses’ right to strike,” says NSGEU President Joan Jessome. “We spent months negotiating essential service staffing levels, only to have the government drop another bomb on these workers: Bill 1.”
The introduction of Bill 1 halted the conciliation process the nurses were in the midst of, and further prevented them from taking any job action, or concluding a collective agreement, until April 2015.
“We didn’t feel it was fair or acceptable to ask nurses to wait until next spring to resolve this round of negotiations, especially since their contract is set to expire at the end of this month,” says Jessome.
“Unlike in the rest of the province, the democratic process is still alive and well here at the NSGEU/NUPGE.”
NSGEU/NUPGE members of Local 97 voted in favour of accepting the employer’s final offer, which does nothing to address front-line staff concerns about staffing and patient safety. The ratification of the contract does ensure they will have a collective agreement in place when the catastrophic Bill 1 proceeds to implementation.
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The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE