N.S. government under pressure to avert strike
7,000 hospital, school support staff could walk off job Monday
Last Updated: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 | 8:28 PM AT
CBC News
Pressure is building on Nova Scotia's NDP government to find a way to avert a strike set to start Monday by 7,000 support staff in hospitals and public schools outside of Halifax.
Premier Darrell Dexter said Wednesday that he's trying to find a way to restart talks with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents the workers.
"What I can say about that, at this point, is that we are working to move that whole process forward," Dexter said. "We're trying to decide when and how that can happen."
CUPE leaders have been preparing for a strike all week in case there's no deal by Monday morning.
They say the union needs at least three days at the table to hammer out an agreement, so that means the two sides have to start negotiating by Thursday, at the latest.
The joint strike would affect 33 hospitals around the province, every school outside the Halifax Regional School Board and three French schools in Halifax.
Contract talks between the province and CUPE broke down over the government's offer of a one per cent wage increase. The union is seeking 2.9 per cent to ensure wage parity with Halifax workers.
NDP backbench MLAs have been fielding plenty of calls from constituents concerned about the dispute.
Guysborough-Sheet Harbour MLA Jim Boudreau said people in his area are especially worried about losing basic health services if there's a strike
"What I'm telling them is that, hopefully, we have people at the table negotiating and doing the things that need to be done," he said.
"I think we saw a situation with the [strike threat at Nova Scotia] Community College where people sat down and reasonable people and reasonable thoughts prevailed."
Instructors and support staff at the 13 campuses of the Nova Scotia Community nearly went on strike last October. They were asking for a 2.9 per cent pay increase and some insurance benefits, the same deal the province struck with 10,000 public school teachers.
The two sides in the contract dispute reached a tentative agreement at the 11th hour. Under the deal, the college employees got a wage increase of 2.9 per cent, retroactive to Sept. 1, 2008, and one per cent for each of the following two years.
Lenore Zann represents the riding of Truro-Bible Hill where a strike would reduce services at Colchester Regional Hospital for emergencies, women in labour and patients with serious chronic illnesses.
That's why the NDP representative is calling on both sides to start talking again.
"We really hope that everybody gets back to the bargaining table soon, which I'm sure they will," Zann said. "Everybody's reasonable and civilized, so I'm just hoping they get back to it so that we can avert a strike."
Lunenburg West MLA Gary Ramey was more blunt.
"My message would be to bargain in good faith — which I know we're already doing — and to sit in a room and not come out until an agreement is hammered out," Ramey said.
The Tories argue that health workers should not have the right to strike. When they were in power, they tried to pass a bill outlawing health sector strikes.
But New Democrats don't support that approach.
"Let's put it this way, I would never accept back-to-work legislation," Zann said. "I would never vote for that. I don't cross picket lines, and I wouldn't vote for that."
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