Nursing Council Reaches an Agreement for Acute Care Nurses in Nova Scotia

Halifax (July 21, 2023) The Nova Scotia Council of Nursing Unions (NSNU, NSGEU, CUPE and Unifor) and acute care employers (Nova Scotia Health and the IWK) met with a Conciliator late yesterday and have reached an agreement for over 10,000 nurses employed in that sector.

The unions and the employers concluded face to face talks on June 29th, unable to come to a consensus on a wage package for nurses working in hospitals, satellite clinics and public health throughout the province. The Council then filed for conciliation, a neutral third-party intervention that provides impartial conciliation and alternative dispute resolution services to labour and management in unionized private and public sector workplaces in Nova Scotia.

Council representatives say this agreement reflects the determination of the bargaining team and a commitment on the part of the employers to improve work-life issues, and to begin to provide the competitive wages and benefits Nova Scotia’s nurses deserve.

The negotiating teams are hopeful that the new deal, which was struck via interest-based bargaining, a first for nursing, will add to other efforts intended to retain and recruit nurses in the system, a system that has been struggling with staffing shortages for well over a decade.

The unions are now holding information sessions for their respective members, with ratification voting starting as early as today for some unions within the Council. The unions will officially release details of the agreement once their members have been notified.

For it to be accepted, at least 51% of those who vote must vote in favour of the agreement. If ratified, this wage settlement is retroactive to November 2020; the contract will expire October 31st, 2025.

The Council held a total of 29 face-to-face bargaining sessions with nurse representatives from all four unions and the employer group.

The Council represents Registered Nurses (RNs), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), and Nurse Practitioners (NPs). These nurses have been without a contract since November 2020.

The Health Authorities Act, passed by the provincial government in 2014, requires all nurses employed at NSH and IWK to bargain together in a Council of Nursing Unions. Under the four Council constitutions, one union appoints the chief negotiator for each Council. The NSNU appoints the Chief Negotiator for the Nursing Council and has the majority of bargaining committee members. NSGEU appoints the Deputy Chief Negotiator and holds the second largest number of seats on the committee.
 

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For more information please contact:
Coleen Logan, Communications Officer, NSNU (902-430-6169, coleen.logan [at] nsnu.ns.ca)
David MacKenzie, Servicing Coordinator, NSGEU (902-430-2524, dmackenzie [at] nsgeu.ca) Taylor Johnston, Atlantic Communications Representative, CUPE (902-536-4922, tjohnston [at] cupe.ca) Shelley Amyotte, National Communications Representative, Unifor (902-717-7491, Shelley.Amyotte [at] unifor.org)