The Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU) says its conciliation talks in negotiating a new collective agreement for its civil servants have failed.
In a release Tuesday afternoon, the union says talks with the government aided by conciliation services failed “as government officials refused to budge on issues of key importance.”
“It is now abundantly clear that government is not genuinely interested in reaching an agreement with our members,” said NSGEU president Jason MacLean.
READ MORE: NSGEU to return to talks with Nova Scotia government
Talks between the two parties were scheduled for Aug. 8 and 9 — the same dates originally set for a hearing at the labour board requesting an arbitrator.
With the talks having broken down, MacLean said the union will now proceed to arbitration “as voted by our members and agreed to by the government.”
In December 2016, the union voted 94 per cent against the most recent tentative agreement.
In May, the union said it would be filing for arbitration after talks earlier this year reached an impasse. The union had been asking for binding arbitration which would see both parties present their demands to an arbitrator or arbitration board which renders a binding decision, setting out terms of the collective agreement.
When conciliation talks were announced last month, the union said the government “has assured” it would not oppose arbitration if the two dates in August were unsuccessful.
READ MORE: NSGEU to ask for binding arbitration in negotiations with Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil has said in the past his government would not allow arbitration as a way to maintain fiscal targets. He said if any union pushed for arbitration, he would proclaim Bill 148, which would impose a wage package on the union.
In an emailed statement, Labour Relations Minister Mark Furey said he’s “disappointed” a deal could not be reached and said the province has “exhausted all our options” to reach an agreement through bargaining. He said both parties agreed they had reached an impasse.
“We’ll take time to thoroughly consider our options,” he said in the statement.
The union’s last agreement for its civil service unit expired in March 2015.
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