The two parties do not agree on who is responsible or when the negotiations will end.
The union claims the employer simply did not show up for Tuesday’s meeting.
The government knew that we had a meeting today. To come and tell us at one o’clock [de préavis] that he wasn’t ready, it’s an affront
, affirms the vice-president of the local union, Joseph Lanteigne.
For its part, the government says that negotiations were interrupted after a meeting with a conciliator earlier in the day Tuesday. A spokeswoman for the provincial government, Jennifer Vienneau, indicates that the rest of the process should go through a conciliation commission.
The New Brunswick Council of Hospital Unions, which represents nearly 10,000 hospital workers such as licensed practical nurses, paramedics and janitors, has been at the negotiating table for a year and a half with the Progressive Conservative government to demand a raise. salary.
The government, which says it met with a conciliator on Tuesday, would instead propose a salary freeze for the next year followed by an increase of 0.5% per six-month period for the three subsequent years.
According to Joseph Lanteigne, the pill is particularly difficult to swallow in the context of the pandemic, while employees are breathless
.
The province’s Council of Hospital Unions called on a negotiator from the Canadian Union of Public Employees to try to settle the dispute in favor of the employees.
We’re going to take the next step, we’ve been patient enough with the government
, says the negotiator of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Samuel LeBlanc.
Meanwhile, the union council plans to mobilize its members to prepare them for the possibility of a strike after the negotiator’s report is tabled.
According to the government, the next step in the process would be a conciliation commission.
The employment contract of employees represented by the New Brunswick Council of Hospital Unions expired in July 2019. Its main request is a salary increase for their employees.
With information from Isabelle Arseneau
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