Member update on health care bargaining

Member update: Health care bargaining – May 1, 2018

The Nova Scotia Council of Health Care Unions, in partnership with all four bargaining committees, is recommending a proposed agreement with the Nova Scotia Health Authority and the IWK be ratified by the membership. The proposal would provide a mediation arbitration process to conclude collective agreements for all four bargaining committees in health care, nursing, support and administrative professionals. Under this proposal mediation arbitration would be used to resolve any issues that cannot be concluded at the bargaining table and all four bargaining units would have a collective agreement by the end of the year. This agreement will be put to a vote by all acute care members. This is a significant development and we understand that there will be many questions and much discussion as to the details and benefits of this proposal. A full information package is currently being developed and will be available beginning this weekend including … Read more…

News release: Council of Unions recommend proposed agreement with NSHA and IWK

Today, the Council of Health Care Unions recommends its members ratify a proposed agreement with the Nova Scotia Health Authority and IWK. Yesterday, all bargaining committee members met and voted to recommend ratification of the proposal to their members. If ratified the agreement provides a mediation arbitration process that will conclude collective agreements for all four bargaining committees in Health Care, Nursing, Support Services, and Administrative Professionals. The Council of Unions is made up of NSGEU, NSNU, CUPE and Unifor and each Union will conduct information sessions to provide details and answer questions to its members. Members will then participate in a ratification vote which will take place in the coming weeks. The Council of Unions will be under a media black out until members have the opportunity to see and vote on the proposal.

Essential Services Agreement in place for IWK

Today, the Council of Health Care Unions welcomed a decision by the Nova Scotia Labour Board which concluded an essential services agreement for health care workers at the IWK. The Labour Board decision rejected the IWK’s request that the Council of Unions (which includes CUPE) provide additional notice periods beyond that required in the Trade Union Act in the event of a strike. The notice period was the only outstanding issue which the Labour Board had to decide. All other matters, including staffing levels, had been agreed to by the IWK and the Council of Unions. This ruling is significant and important for all unionized health care workers in Nova Scotia as the IWK had sought to place additional restrictions on when employees might be able to go on strike. By rejecting that restriction, the Labour Board has allowed the health care council to determine when it would conduct a strike, … Read more…