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Eight-nine per cent of the ballots cast were in favour of a strike.
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Halifax (29 June 2012) - Health care members of the Nova Scotia Government & General Employees Union (NSGEU/NUPGE) employed by Nova Scotia Hearing and Speech Centres have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike to support their bargaining committee as it attempts to negotiate a contract that simply keeps pace with the contracts of other health care workers in the province.
The 138 members - who work across the province as audiologists, speech language pathologists, audiology and speech language pathology technicians, desktop support, procurement technicians and clerks – help thousands of Nova Scotians every year who are experiencing problems with their hearing, speech, and in extreme cases, even their ability to eat.
They are negotiating a two-year contract that will cover the 2010 to 2012 contract years. Once agreement is reached, it will have already expired on March 31, 2012. However, the two sides remain deadlocked over the employer’s demand for vacation clawbacks and its refusal to offer the NSGEU/NUPGE members wages and retirement packages that are equal to those of other health care workers in the province.
The bargaining teams have already met with a provincial conciliator, who is expected to file a report with the provincial government next month declaring that bargaining has reached an impasse.
Once that report is filed, a two-week countdown begins; after that, the members will be legally allowed to go on strike.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE