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Nova Scotia long-term care workers represented by CUPE and government representatives are returning to the bargaining table Thursday evening after a four-week strike.
In a statement, CUPE said it looked forward to negotiations.
The two sides reached an impasse on March 24, and members have been on strike since April 13.
Some 3,000 workers from 30 long-term care homes have voted to strike. Melville Lodge joined the strike Thursday morning, and Shoreham Village was poised to open their pickets Friday prior to the negotiation announcement.
Earlier Thursday, CUPE’s long-term care and community committee chair, Christa Sweeney, said union members want to return to work but couldn’t accept the current offer from the province.
“Our workers do their jobs because they love them and they want to get back to work because we deeply believe in the work and we want to do it well. We’re not on strike lightly,” she said.
Sweeney said Thursday morning that the current offer’s wages made it too hard for members to make ends meet.
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“This system runs on people. And right now, those people are being pushed out. You cannot fix long-term care while you continue to undervalue the people who make it work,” she said.
A pay increase of at least 12 per cent over four years for some workers was on the table, while others would see a bump of 24 per cent.
Both opposition leaders also expressed disappointment about how the strike was being handled by the Tim Houston government.
“I think the public should believe the over 3,000 workers who are standing outside in the rain today rather than doing the work they love and caring for the people in those homes because they simply can’t get by on the wages that they are making,” said NDP Leader Claudia Chender.
Barbara Adams, the minister for seniors and long-term care, told reporters at midday that the province would return to the table only when CUPE members voted on their offer.
“So we have made it very clear to everyone that the offer is fully available online, but it is CUPE’s responsibility to ensure that all of their members have the offer and that they give them the same opportunity to vote on the offer,” she said.
A few hours later, CUPE announced that they and the province had agreed to return to the bargaining table.
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