NSNU and NSAHO Returning to the Table

Premier Russell MacLellan today announced the Nova Scotia Nurses Union (NSNU) and the Nova Scotia Association of Health Organizations (NSAHO) will be returning to the negotiating table Wednesday, March 18.

The conciliator in the negotiations between the NSAHO, representing 38 health care employers across Nova Scotia, and the NSNU, representing 3,500 nursing professionals at these facilities, had asked both sides to return to conciliation beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

"I believe that the nurses' union and the hospital employers can reach a new agreement that addresses the concerns of the nurses," said Premier MacLellan. "Both parties need to show flexibility to reach an agreement that is workable."

The premier had encouraged the nurses' union to request a return to conciliation to address concerns they had about the tentative agreement. "I am pleased that the NSNU and the NSAHO agreed to go back to the table, because that is the best forum to settle differences and reach common ground," he added.