N.S. long-term care workers reject government offer, sparking province-wide strike

Over 2,000 workers at 22 facilities moved to strike after talks failed. Paul Hollingsworth reports from Halifax on the impacts and risks.

HALIFAX — Long-term care workers in Nova Scotia are walking the picket lines across the province over a strike they believe is framed around one basic message: earning a liveable wage.

“We are looking for the government to get back to the table to help get us back to work, doing what we know and love best,” said Gordie Ferguson, who is the president of the Canadian Union of Public Employee (CUPE) Local 1183, in Sydney River, N.S.

More than 2,000 unionized workers from two dozen long-term care homes have an offer on the table that includes wage increases ranging from 12 to 24 per cent, retro pay dating back to 2023, a 70 per cent increase in shift and weekend premiums, and new funding to enroll in a defined benefit pension plan for facilities that do not currently have pensions in place.

“We are encouraging all the CUPE members to go to their union and ask for a copy of the deal,” said Nova Scotia Minister of Seniors and Long-Term Care Barbara Adams.

“This is the same deal that has been accepted by acute care, homecare and other long-term care facilities, so they’ll all be paid the same.” According to the union, the offer is not good enough.

“The living wage across Nova Scotia as of 2025 at the end of the fall, was $24 to $29 an hour,” said CUPE Nova Scotia President Allan Linkletter. “If we were to take this deal the government has offered, our lowest paid workers would still be at $22 an hour.”

Workers at all homes will continue to provide care, based on an essential service agreement, which was a relief for Janet Flemming, who visited her mother at a continuing care centre.

“They are working really hard in there, doing the best they can, and I was happy to see that,” said Flemming.

Staffing inside each facility will be at roughly 80 per cent. The union said workers will ensure the needs of long-term care homes residents will continue to be met, while the strike continues.