A week out from the deadline of a 100-day ultimatum, CUPE New Brunswick president Stephen Drost says union negotiators are preparing for what could be a marathon week of bargaining talks with government representatives.
Drost says he’s hoping an agreement can be reached in time to avoid a 22,000 member strike vote.
“I am very cautiously optimistic,” Drost said.
“We’re very hopeful that the province and these locals will be able to reach an agreement before that time.”
Back in May, the union gave premier Blaine Higgs an ultimatum: reach new contracts with all locals who need one before Labour Day, or face a province-wide strike vote. The 22,000 public sector workers represented by CUPE include hospital support staff, correctional workers and educational assistants.
Half a dozen or so locals have declared deadlocks in negotiations over the past several months since Higgs announced the government would pursue a wage freeze policy in negotiations with public-sector unions.
The policy is a plea for workers to recognize the financial challenges faced by the province, but Higgs’ pitch of a three per cent raise over the course of a four-year contract has been met with heavy opposition from the union.
“They shouldn’t be expected to balance the books of the province,” Drost said.
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Last month, the union said talks were nonexistent. The parties met on Wednesday and Thursday of last week, but Drost says the contract being offered was one that had already been rejected. Higgs met with negotiators at the bargaining table on Thursday and said that a new offer would come this week.
The two sides are due to meet on Tuesday, when the union expects that new offer.
“They plan on making another offer to the group and hopefully it will be something that the membership would feel is worthwhile,” Drost said.
CUPE held a summit on Friday to update workers on the negotiations and held rallies across the province in support of frontline workers on Saturday.
When asked what the union is asking for, Drost said they expect “real wage increases.”
“That has been blatantly clear throughout this entire campaign,” he said.
“A real wage increase would be starting at the cost of living. They haven’t had a wage increase that’s been even close to the cost of living for 10 years. Some of these locals haven’t had a contract in five years.”
Premier Higgs was not made available for an interview. In a statement, a spokesperson for the department of finance and treasury board says they still hope to reach a settlement.
“The Government of New Brunswick respects the collective bargaining process and remains hopeful that the parties can reach a negotiated agreement that recognizes our ongoing challenges,” said Jennifer Vienneau.
“We want to strike the balance between fair wages and our obligation to be responsible with taxpayers’ money.”
Should no deal be reached by Labour Day, the union will begin a strike vote. Drost says it would take about a week to conduct the vote and another week to count the results. Should the union’s locals opt for a strike, labour action could begin by the end of September.
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