Bargaining update: Nova Scotia Council of Nursing Unions – June 18, 2018

The Nova Scotia Council of Nursing Unions completed two days of discussion on Friday, June 15. The Council of Nursing met on June 14 and 15 to prepare bargaining proposals. Over the course of the meetings, the 26-member council discussed bargaining priorities and collective agreements from all four unions (NSGEU, CUPE, Unifor and NSNU) in acute care. The team will have to review contract language for all nurses, in all categories, to reach consensus on what to preserve, what to expand upon and what compromises may be required. These inaugural meetings were very productive, but additional dates are required this summer in order to be fully prepared before exchanging proposals with the Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) and IWK on September 5. The Nursing Council will meet again on July 3 – 4 and August 22 – 23. The nursing unions have, over the last year or so, been surveying and talking to members … Read more…

Frontline Trip Colombia 2018

Frontline Trip Colombia 2018 – We are all Dom Tomis

The following presentation and report was made to delegates attending the 2018 CUPE Nova Scotia Convention by Donna McCarthy, member of the CUPE NS Human Rights Committee, who went to Colombia this past year to act as an observer for the work being done by Colombian unions and activists. Thank you Nan. Thank you CUPE executive board, delegates, guests, observers and staff for allowing me some of your time today. I would like to start with a thank you to CUPE National, the CUPE Global Justice Fund, CUPE NS and the CUPE NS Global Justice Committee. Without them, these trips would never happen. I am and will be forever thankful for the privilege and opportunity to go as a CUPE delegate with the Frontline initiative to Colombia. It was a life-changing experience for me. It is evident to me that CUPE is doing great work there and the Colombian people … Read more…

CUPE NS Human Rights Chair Donna McCarthy

Convention Bulletin – Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Solidarity with Colombian water workers CUPE NS Human Rights Chair Donna McCarthy updated convention on a trip to show solidarity with Indigenous communities and water workers in Colombia. CUPE delegates on the trip toured with community and union leaders from Sintracuavalle, the Colombian water workers union. Together, they saw firsthand the violent of water privatization in Colombia, and the impacts it has had on Indigenous and rural communities. In particular, Donna focused on the violence and threats that union leaders in Colombia face on a daily basis, and the urgency of CUPE supporting their efforts. After her presentation, delegates approved two resolutions to send financial support to the workers at Sintracuavalle. National will fight back alongside CUPE NS: Hancock National President Mark Hancock gave his annual address to delegates on Tuesday. Hancock pledged the support of National to the important fights that CUPE NS is taking on against privatization in … Read more…