The Nova Scotia government says the union representing long-term care workers rejected a return to the bargaining table this weekend, as the workers’ strike continues into its second month.
A letter released late Saturday says representatives asked Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) leadership to return to the table this weekend.
“We were disappointed that despite offering CUPE leadership to meet on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, they would not find time to return to the table until next week,” Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Barbara Adams said.
Adams also outlined in the letter the proposal made to CUPE earlier this month when they met to resume negotiations on May 7, saying the government was “uncertain” whether CUPE shared the changes made to its previous offer.
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Under the offer, long-term care workers would see pay increases of 12 to 24 percent during the first four years of the pay deal retroactive to 2023. The proposal also includes increases in evening and weekend premiums and access to a defined benefit pension plan.
What’s new in the proposal, according to Adams, is a $2 hourly raise starting in 2027 for workers making less than $23 an hour and an additional 1.5 percent raise for all workers in 2027.
The province’s letter comes 10 days after thousands of workers marked a month-long strike.
Kim Cail, CUPE’s long-term care co-ordinator, told Global News at the time they had walked away from the table after the May 7 meeting after the province had offered nothing new.
“Unfortunately they came to the table on Thursday night (May 7) with the same old offer they had been making us since last August,” Cail said.
Global News has reached out to CUPE for comment on the province’s letter.
Both sides have said services in long-term care homes are continuing, but at a reduced level, meaning the range of support residents receive is limited.
Criticism was also raised from Adams’ letter, saying CUPE had not voted on the current offer and that the decision was a “huge setback”.
“The decision by CUPE leadership not to put the current offer to a membership vote has become a major obstacle to resolution,” Adams wrote.
She went on to urge CUPE to put the current offer to a vote by members.
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