Health minister asks Nova Scotia Health, IWK to prepare for potential strike

Nova Scotia’s health minister says there is “no more to offer” ahead of the final day of scheduled talks between the province’s two health authorities and the Council of Health Care Unions.

In a letter to the CEO’s of the health authorities on Tuesday, Michelle Thompson asked them to “begin to plan for labour disruption”.

“The current negotiations have been difficult but talks continue and Thursday’s conciliation date will be the fourth day the parties have worked with a conciliation officer,” Thompson wrote. “This follows five months of discussions, including nine full days since March 2024.”

The NSGEU, CUPE and Unifor, which bargain together as the Council of Health Care Unions, have been without a collective agreement since Oct. 31.

“The reality is that with a staggering provincial deficit, there is just no more to offer,” Thompson wrote in her letter. “We simply can’t sweeten the offer because the taxpayer is already stretched to their limit.”

In response to Thompson’s letter, the Council of Health Care Unions says the communication “has no other impact than to derail the bargaining process”.

“It is disappointing that 48 hours before we were set to return to the bargaining table, the Minister of Health has decided to politicize and undermine health care bargaining by negotiating through the media,” said NSGEU President Sandra Mullen.

Workers represented by the unions include those in diagnostic imaging, laboratories, mental health and addictions, cancer therapy and paramedics.