Latest news with #wageparity
CBC
22-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
New contract signed for 4,500 N.B. nursing home workers
Thousands of New Brunswick nursing home workers have a new contract. The New Brunswick Council of Nursing Home Unions signed a new collective agreement Wednesday with the New Brunswick Association of Nursing Homes. The council represents more than 4,500 employees at 52 homes across the province. Sharon Teare, president of the council, celebrated the new agreement that she says brings wage parity with healthcare workers. "This deal will help address the recruitment and retention issues plaguing the sector," Teare said in a news release. "This will mean better hands-on care for seniors." WATCH | Union leader praises 'historic' agreement: Nursing home workers sign new contract 5 hours ago Duration 0:58 More than 4,500 nursing home workers in New Brunswick have a new collective agreement that includes wage increases. The deal was reached after talks stalled several years ago. The council represents licensed practical nurses, personal support workers, cooks, janitorial staff, and other workers in nursing homes. The New Brunswick Association of Nursing Homes also celebrated the contract. "This is a win-win for the sector and its employees, which will hopefully stabilize recruitment and retention for years to come," CEO Richard Losier said in a statement. Teare said a tentative agreement was reached at the end of March and approved by union members in early April. The agreement covers from October 2022, when the previous contract expired, to June 2028. It includes annual wage increases of more than one dollar an hour for each year of the agreement, according to a news release. Teare said it was achieved without concessions from workers. Wages in the previous contract ranged from $18.72 to $32.85, depending on the job and time in the position. While the agreement is with the nursing home association, the provincial government funds nursing home operations. In the news release, Teare credited the Liberal provincial government, which took power last fall. "Their role in bringing this deal across the finish line was essential," Teare said in the release. Under the former Progressive Conservative government, talks had stalled. In 2023, union members held rallies, including one in Moncton, where workers described the wage offer put forward as insulting. The event echoed one held four years earlier when union members voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike. At the time, the province secured a court order blocking it from happening. The legislature later passed amendments to the Essential Services in Nursing Homes Act that the union alleges was an unfair restriction on its ability to strike.
CBC
21-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Workers at Métis, Michif child and family services agencies now have wage parity agreement: Union
Social Sharing Workers at Métis Child, Family and Community Services and Michif Child and Family Services reached an arbitration agreement for wage parity between the two child welfare agencies, the union representing them said Tuesday. A new four-year agreement is now in place, retroactive to Feb. 1, 2023, Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union said in a news release on Tuesday. The agreement will last until Jan. 31, 2027. The employees had been without a contract since the previous agreements expired on Jan. 31, 2023. More than 330 employees between two agencies — the Winnipeg-area Métis Child, Family and Community Services; and Michif Child and Family Services, serving The Pas, Dauphin and Brandon areas — went on strike on March 25. Staff went back to work on April 8 after the union and the employers reached an agreement to resolve outstanding contract negotiations through arbitration. According to Tuesday's release, arbitrator Michael D. Werier ordered "fair and reasonable" wage increases for both agencies. Werier also ordered a new maximum pay level to be added within the collective agreement, a one-time automatic step progression for some employees, and back pay to Feb. 1, 2023 for workers employed as of Tuesday. More than 60 workers who were laid off earlier this spring will also benefit, the union says.
