Tentative Agreement Reached on Pensions

A potential health-care strike has been delayed at least until Nov. 6 after the two sides involved in a labour dispute reached a tentative agreement on the main issue of pensions.

The Nova Scotia Association of Hospital Organizations, which represents eight district health authorities and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), met over the weekend and late Sunday evening, Oct. 29, cleared the way for the two sides to return to the bargaining process and try to reach a collective agreement.

The agreement is contingent on CUPE and Canadian Auto Workers settling the labour dispute without strike action. The pension deal applies to these two unions and three other health-care worker unions. Their negotiations will resume on Thursday, Nov. 2. CUPE's 3,300 clerical, technical and service hospital workers across the province would have been in a legal strike position at midnight Oct. 31. Canadian Auto Workers health-care workers at both Cape Breton District Health Authority and the IWK would have been in a strike position on Nov. 6. This resumption in talks means the province's 33 hospitals can reassess their contingency plans to reduce services for the moment.

Health Minister Chris d'Entremont said he appreciated the hard work through the weekend and commended the parties for finding a solution on the contentious pension issue.

"I am extremely happy the parties could come to an agreement on this issue," said Mr. d'Entremont, today Oct. 30. "I'm also very relieved that Nova Scotians will not see a disruption of health-care services at this point."