The New Brunswick government's offer to expand the current Canadian Blood Services building is giving local workers hope their jobs will be saved, says a union representative.

Premier Shawn Graham announced late last week that the province would pay to expand the non-profit agency's existing building to meet its standards, as a way to keep the facility from relocating to Nova Scotia.

Mike Davidson, a national representative with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, said he hopes a deal can be negotiated to save the facility.

"It does show that the New Brunswick government is committed to doing whatever needs to be done. If they need a larger facility, grow it here in Saint John, it only makes sense," he said.

Davidson said there's nothing wrong with the building in Saint John.

New Brunswick Health Minister Mary Schryer will be meeting with Canadian Blood Services officials next month to discuss the offer.

Davidson said he doesn't understand how relocating could possibly improve the service.

"CBS has not given us any concrete information on how it's going to improve the blood supply, moving the production site to Nova Scotia," he said.

"I asked them the pointed question, can you guarantee us a better blood supply system with the production site going to Nova Scotia, and they couldn't guarantee that."

Davidson said that if a deal is not reached, CUPE workers will be looking at running a blood service independently, similar to what's being done now in Quebec.

But Paul McGrath, a spokesman for the non-profit agency, said the plan to consolidate the work in Dartmouth is pretty much a done deal.

"Once the consolidation, distribution services are finalized under the current plan, the building in Saint John would be closed and it would be sold," he said.

"And we'd open up a new blood donor clinic somewhere in Saint John that hasn't been determined yet."