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Members prepare for strike vote as IWK Health Centre refuses to negotiate on par with terms reached at Capital Health District Authority.
Halifax (03 April 2013) – After two days of conciliation, talks aimed at achieving a new collective agreement have broken off for members in the health care bargaining unit at the Izaak Walton Killam (IWK) Health Centre.
While the talks were successful in dealing with major monetary issues, members of the Nova Scotia Government & General Employees (NSGEU/NUPGE) were not able to reach agreement on important job security provisions of the collective agreement. The employer’s final offer falls short of what was achieved by employees of Capital District Health Authority (CDHA) where members with eight years seniority enjoy protection against layoff. The IWK refuses to move from the current provision of nine years.
The bargaining committee is especially concerned by the message sent by the employer by refusing to agree to the same level of job security conditions which were negotiated at the CDHA.
NSGEU/NUPGE will now be conducting a vote among the membership asking them to reject the employers final offer and to authorize a strike to support the memberships priorities at the table.
The union will be conducting a town hall call to provide affected NSGEU/NUPGE members with greater detail on how and when this vote will be conducted in the very near future.
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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