Thirty Nova Scotia long-term care homes have voted for strike mandates: CUPE

A CUPE flag is pictured.

Thirty long-term care homes in Nova Scotia have voted in favour of strike mandates in the last few months, according to the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 5018.

An overwhelming majority of workers (94 per cent) at the Northumberland Hall long-term care home in Amherst voted in favour of a strike mandate last week, becoming the latest group to do so.

According to the Northumberland Hall website, the care home serves 36 residents.

“This is not how we wanted to start 2026,” said CUPE 5018 president Barb Jenkins in a news release. “I think we all hoped that, by now, the government would have made an offer that recognized the vital work we do and our role in the health care system more broadly, but that’s simply not the case. It’s disappointing, but, if that’s the way it’s going to be, me and my fellow workers are prepared to fight for what we deserve.”

CUPE says it started taking strike votes with long-term care home workers in the last quarter of 2025 due to stalled negotiations with the provincial government over wages. The union says it is also seeking improved recruitment and retention.

“Adding beds and building new homes won’t help if there is no one left to provide care,” said CUPE long-term care coordinator Tammy Martin. “Offering Continuing Care Assistants (CCAs) free tuition won’t help if they use that certification to work in any of the other sectors or provinces that pay better.

“The solution is simple: pay the workers what they’re worth. Start there.”

CUPE long-term care and the provincial government are scheduled to return to the table for conciliation at the end of January.

In a report released on Tuesday, the province’s auditor general said the government spent more than $1.3 billion on long-term care and senior services in 2024-2025.

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