NSGEU support staff at Dalhousie University accept new contract

NSGEU/NUPGE members at Dalhousie University vote to accept a deal that features a 3.5 per cent wage increase this year.

Halifax (26 March 2012) - Support staff members of NSGEU/NUPGE at Dalhousie University will not be going on strike. The members voted in favour of a three-year offer from the employer that includes a 3.5 per cent wage increase on July 1, 2012.

In the three-year deal, the members also receive a $300 deposit by the employer into their “health spending account” on July 1, 2012.

The local’s bargaining committee was also able to increase standby pay by 30 per cent to $2 an hour and increase shift premiums by more than 100 per cent to $1.50 an hour. Improvements were also achieved in bereavement and family illness leave provisions, as well as in vacations and personal protective equipment allowances.

The local’s previous contract expired almost a year ago on June 30, 2011. In this new contract, NSGEU/NUPGE members accepted the same one per cent increase for 2011 accepted by most other public service employees in the province. The final year of the deal features a 1.75 per cent wage increase and a $500 deposit by the employer to members’ health spending accounts.

On March 6, more than three quarters of the local members voted in favour of strike, largely over significant pension concessions being demanded by the employer. As it did during recent negotiations with the Dalhousie Faculty Association, the employer withdrew its pension proposals on the eve of the legal strike date.

The NSGEU/NUPGE members provide vital support services to the Dalhousie University in administration, IT, and library services.

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