Premier Praises Civil Service Contract

Premier Russell MacLellan says the approval of a new contract by 5,700 civil servants shows that collective bargaining is the best route to reach new agreements.

"With this agreement, we now have 30,000 provincial public sector employees with new and better contracts," said Premier MacLellan. He noted that under the contract, union and management will consult regularly on matters of mutual concern.

"This agreement signals a new way of working with our employees that will result in improved service delivery to the public," he said. "It's been a long process that has involved a great deal of commitment by both the government and the union negotiating teams, and I want to congratulate them for successfully completing their contract talks."

The civil servants, members of the Nova Scotia Government Employees Union, voted 66 per cent in favour of the agreement, which gives them a compounded wage increase of 7.4 per cent over the 29 months of the contract.

The wage increase comprises:

• restoration of the three per cent wage rollback on Dec. 1, 1997
• a 1.9 per cent increase on Nov. 1, 1998
• a 2.2 per cent increase on April 1, 1999

Employees who earn less than $25,000 a year will benefit from a special provision. Although their wages were not rolled back three per cent, they will receive a one-time lump sum payment of $750. The amount will be prorated for part-time employees and employees who had wage rollbacks of less than one per cent.

The government and the union reached a tentative agreement March 5. NSGEU members had until April 7 to vote on the new agreement.