HALIFAX: The following is open letter from Barbara Adams, Minister of Seniors and Long-Term Care.
On Friday, May 22, government representatives on behalf of employers asked CUPE leadership to return to the table to continue negotiations and help bring this strike to an end. We were disappointed that despite offering CUPE leadership to meet Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, they would not find the time to come back to the table until next week.
It is important to note that our goal remains unchanged: we want a resolution.
Our message to residents and families is simple: we know this situation has been stressful and difficult. Long-term care residents deserve stability, consistency and compassionate care. Families deserve confidence that their loved ones are being cared for safely and respectfully.
While essential service agreements remain in place, any disruption in care places additional pressure on residents, families, staff and long-term care homes. This is why we continue to focus on reaching a fair and sustainable agreement as quickly as possible.
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Our government believes in the collective bargaining process. Over the past several years, we have successfully supported or negotiated almost 400 agreements across the public sector with minimal disruption to workers, families and services.
We have done that by remaining respectful, staying open-minded and continuing to work toward solutions even when negotiations become difficult.
Although this process has been challenging from the start, the government remains committed to reaching a resolution and will continue working toward one.
To CUPE members: we value the work you do. Your work matters deeply to residents, families, communities and the province as a whole.
Throughout this process, the government has amended its position in an effort to reach agreement.
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On May 7, we substantially improved the offer and we are uncertain whether CUPE shared the amendments with their members. We want to correct that. The current proposal now includes:
– wage increases of 12–24% over the first four years of the agreement;
– retroactive pay to 2023;
– increased evening and weekend premiums;
– access to a defined benefit pension plan;
– an additional $2 per hour beginning in 2027 for employees earning under $23/hour, new in this proposal; and
– an additional 1.5% increase for all workers in 2027, new in this proposal.
These improvements were made in direct response to concerns raised by frontline workers, particularly workers in lower wage classifications.
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More than 27,500 workers have already voted for and are benefiting from similar agreements., including workers represented by other unions and CUPE-represented employees, in home care and hospitals. Two additional continuing care agreements have been ratified in recent weeks, including one for CUPE in homecare.
It is concerning that CUPE accepted similar agreements in other sectors, yet long-term care workers remain on strike without having the opportunity to vote on the current offer. As a result, these workers are being prevented from accessing higher wages, improved benefits and retroactive pay that others are already receiving. This seems inherently unfair to CUPE members.
CUPE leadership’s decision not to put the current offer to a membership vote has become a major obstacle to resolution.
The government remains prepared to continue the bargaining process in good faith. After substantially improving the offer earlier this month, the government firmly believes the next appropriate step is for the current offer to be put to a vote.
Our commitment remains the same: to support residents, respect workers, respect collective bargaining and act in the best interests of all Nova Scotians.”
