The Nova Scotia Nurses' Union wants all licensed practical nurses in the province to get a pay bump, after those represented by another union in Halifax were awarded a 12 per cent raise by an independent arbitrator.

The nurses union wants the provincial government, the Nova Scotia Health Authority and anyone else who employs LPNs to quickly increase their pay to match what some LPNs in Halifax will receive.

"This is a great first step in the right direction. LPNs deserve to have their hard work acknowledged and fairly compensated," Janet Hazelton, president of the Nova Scotia Nurses' Union, said in a news release. "The next step is to appreciate that all LPNs, in all sectors are working just as hard and are equally deserving."

Right now, only LPNs represented by the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union that worked in Halifax for the former Capital District Health Authority are getting the pay hike.

The NSGEU had argued its LPNs were doing work above their pay grade and the work deserved to be reclassified. The pay raise was mutually arrived at by the employer and the employees earlier this month, and was awarded by an arbitrator.

The 12 per cent increase is retroactive to March 17, 2014, which was the date when the NSGEU first formalized the complaint. Some LPNs could get as much as $36,000 in retroactive pay.

Hazelton said LPNs throughout Nova Scotia are doing the same hard work and deserve the same raise.

"Nurses are the backbone of an already fragile health-care system — from Yarmouth to Cape Breton. To have inequities of any kind, especially during a pandemic, sets us back and demoralizes nurses. This simply won't be tolerated."

On Monday, the Nova Scotia Health Authority said it did not have an opportunity to discuss the raise with the Nova Scotia Nurses' Union, CUPE and Unifor, which also have LPNs as members.

There are about 2,000 LPNs working for the Nova Scotia Health Authority.

The health authority plans to follow processes laid out in the collective agreement for nurses, which expires on Oct. 31, and the pay plans will be reviewed as part of the upcoming bargaining process.