Four more long-term care homes in Nova Scotia have issued their official 48-hour notice to strike, according to a news release from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). Long-term care workers at Grand View Manor, Magnolia Continuing Care Centre, and Shiretown and Ivey’s Terrace Nursing Homes will hit the picket line Thursday morning if negotiations don’t pick up. Maple Hill Manor is set to follow suit on Friday. CUPE represents 52 long-term care facilities in Nova Scotia. The union submitted its 48-hour strike notice on April 10 and more than 2,200 workers started walking off the job on April 13. Affected workers include continuing-care assistants and licensed practical nurses, housekeeping staff and physiotherapists. If the four homes reach the picket line, 29 locals and nearly 3,000 long-term care workers will be striking across the province. “The government’s refusal to bargain is dragging this strike out and putting residents at risk. This could end tomorrow if they were willing to negotiate,” says Christa Sweeney, CUPE long-term and community care committee chair, in the news release. Long-Term Care Minister Barbara Adams Adams said in a statement on April 12 that the government’s offer would increase the wages of some workers by 24 per cent. She said the offer comes with retroactive pay back to 2023 and contains a 70 per cent increase in shift and weekend premiums. The offer on the table by the province is a four-year deal retroactive to 2023, which means, if accepted, the contract would expire next year and could potentially have workers back out on the picket line. CUPE says long-term care workers will be picketing at the following locations throughout the week: For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
