CUPE NS President Nan McFadgen along with senior CUPE staff met with Minister of Labour Mark Furey on June 26 to highlight the work CUPE members are doing in the province and to establish neutral ground on which to work together on common interests.
Both sides agreed that better communications, resources and timing could help resolve issues, especially in health care where reorganization has resulted in a lot of change and stress for employees.
This letter to the editor, by Michelle Lohnes, was published in the Chronicle Herald on June 16, 2018. Michelle is an early learning educator and a CUPE member. NOT GLORIFIED BABYSITTERS As an early childhood educator with over 20 years of experience, it saddens me to see what’s happening in our sector. Since the Liberals introduced the first pre-primary program last year, the message delivered to the public is that only schools provide quality early childhood education. There are numerous early learning centres across this province that have been delivering high-quality ECE programs for decades. They follow curriculum guidelines and are staffed with well-educated ECEs who have the same qualifications as their counterparts working in public schools. Recently, the deputy minister announced the need for wrap-around care for the pre-primary programs. Government officials have approached centres, asking them to provide before- and after-school care. They are calling this “book end” … Read more…
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…