Bargaining will begin for long-term care home workers after the Nova Scotia government delivered a financial mandate.
The move comes after immense public pressure from the public and Unifor members who sent nearly 1,000 letters to the Nova Scotia legislature.
Long-term care workers have been without a collective agreement for two years, all the while experiencing the lowest pay in the region.
“Tim Houston was elected because of his promise to improve working conditions for health care workers, which in turn improves the care every Nova Scotian receives, but he has yet to deliver a financial mandate for the long-term care sector,” Unifor Atlantic Regional Director Jennifer Murray said in an October press release. “There is no excuse for the disrespect being shown to those who provide essential, live-saving and life-extending care to our loved ones.”
Now that the financial mandate has been issued, the union can head to the bargaining table. The letters that sparked the mandate, expressed frustration with the sector being a key part of Premier Tim Houston’s election campaign, but then experiencing a two year delay in receiving a financial mandate.
“We are pleased this delay has finally ended but frustrated it ever came to a point where we had to plead and shame the government into doing their job, especially when it comes to health care workers they claim to prioritize,” Murray said in a recent press statement. “Nova Scotia’s long-term care workers are rightfully looking for wage increases that reflect the dramatic rise in the cost of living since their last agreement.”
Unifor and other unions gathered outside Premier Houston’s office on Oct. 22, and outside Minister of Seniors and Long-Term Care Barbara Adams’ office on Nov. 5.
Members had planned to rally outside of Minister Michelle Thompson’s office in Antigonish on Nov. 19 but have now cancelled the rally as bargaining begins.