After nearly a month-long strike for long-term care workers, the Nova Scotia government and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) have agreed to return to the bargaining table. In a news release, CUPE said they and the government agreed to get back to the table on Thursday. The strike has been ongoing since April 13. “We’re happy to hear that the government is willing to get back to the table,” said Christa Sweeney, chair of the Long Term and Community Care Committee, in the release. “We look forward to negotiating in good faith and reaching a deal that everyone can be happy with.” CUPE, which represents 52 long-term care facilities in Nova Scotia, has said its major focus is improved wages for workers. “These folks need to be able to keep up, to put groceries on their table, to keep a roof over their heads and that’s not happening right now,” Mark Hancock, the national president of CUPE, previously told CTV News Atlantic. “The money that we’ve been offered is next to nothing.” Barbara Adams, minister of Seniors and Long-term Care, previously said their offer to the union is competitive. “It’s 12-to-24 per cent pay raise plus a 70 per cent increase in shift premium, a defined pension benefit for those who didn’t have it and it’s a retroactive pay back to 2023 when the original deal expired,” Adams said. Thirty-one long-term care facilities are currently on strike. They are: With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Natalie Lombard and Jonathan MacInnis For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
