Nova Scotia’s health care unions to hold strike vote

A council of Nova Scotia’s health care unions has announced a plan to hold a province-wide strike vote for all of its members.

The decision comes after more than a year of bargaining between the Nova Scotia Council of Health Care Unions and the Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) and the IWK.

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According to a press release sent out by the council — which represents 6,500 members of the Nova Scotia Government & General Employees Union (NSGEU), CUPE, Unifor and Nova Scotia Nurses Union (NSNU) — a strike vote is the only way to get those on the opposite side of the table to take “health care bargaining seriously.”

“The employer doesn’t seem to be acting as if this is real bargaining. It is real bargaining, it’s peoples lives that have been hanging out there for the last four years and we want to come to a conclusion of bargaining and we feel this will give some pressure,” said Jason MacLean, president of the NSGEU.

The press release issued an even stronger statement.

“Considerable time and resources have gone into these negotiations and it is time to get a deal so the government can refocus their attention on addressing the crisis in health care,” the press release says.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Considerable time and resources have gone into these negotiations and it is time to get a deal so the government can refocus their attention on addressing the crisis in health care," the press release says.

For his part, Premier Stephen McNeil, did not seem to be overly concerned with a possible strike vote and was confident that the two sides would eventually come to an agreement.

“We always go back and forth in those negotiations, we have what we believe is essential, we believe we reflect the views of Nova Scotians they have what they believe is, they assured us that we could come to an agreement.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We always go back and forth in those negotiations, we have what we believe is essential, we believe we reflect the views of Nova Scotians they have what they believe is, they assured us that we could come to an agreement."

WATCH: NSGEU gives notice of charter challenge to Bill 148

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Despite the NSNU being part of the council or health care unions, Global News has been told that only six members are included in the bargaining unit. However, if a strike is approved it appears that members of NSNU would not cross the picket line.

Even though the council has announced the strike vote, they stress that they have yet to give up on negotiations. They say that they will attend all six of the planned conciliation dates in April and May.

Details on when and where the strike vote might occur have yet to be released but the council has said the results of the vote will be made public.