The strike that has been weighing on the health care sector in Nova Scotia has been averted.
The three unions, UNIFOR, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU) announced a tentative agreement signed with the employer Friday at 4:30 a.m. after a marathon day, reads a press release.
Contested legislation
Discussions with Nova Scotia Health and the IWK Hospital in Halifax focused on a staffing plan that would ensure essential services in the event of a strike.
Indeed, an essential services agreement is mandatory under the Health Authorities Act, legislation adopted in 2014 by the government of Stephen McNeil.
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The contested legislation was passed under Stephen McNeil’s government in 2014.
Photo : Communications Nova Scotia
Employee representative organisations believe that this law allows employers to drag out negotiations and delay the start of a potential strike.
In short, an agreement specifying which workers are essential and are not allowed to take work actions is required before health workers can legally strike.
Unions plan to prepare those documents and begin voting by the middle of next week, after the long Labor Day weekend.
The Council of Health Unions is made up of 9,000 health care professionals from across Nova Scotia in diagnostic imaging, laboratory, pharmacy, mental health and addictions, cancer therapy and paramedics.
