HALIFAX – Nova Scotia’s health minister says he wants to negotiate a long-term collective agreement with health care workers in the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union during the next round of bargaining this fall.
Leo Glavine says the department is in a constant state of negotiating with unions and reaching a long-term contract would save money on bargaining costs.
Glavine alluded to a five-year deal for health care workers in British Columbia that includes a one per cent wage increase each year with a provision of further wage increases if the economy improves over projections.
He says he likes the idea of a five-year deal but wouldn’t comment on potential wage increases for Local 42 at Capital Health, whose three-year contract expires Oct. 31.
Joan Jessome, the president of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, says three-year agreements have worked for decades.
Jessome says that’s because they allow for adjustments to issues like hours, scheduling and safety concerns as they evolve or become outdated over the course of an agreement.
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