CUPE, province head back to the table as strike enters third week

The Higgs government and unionized public-sector workers are talking again about a way to resolve a strike that began two weeks ago, but one side is more optimistic than the other about a possible resolution.

Premier Blaine Higgs said he met with leaders of the Canadian Union of Public Employees on Thursday afternoon and would talk to them again Friday afternoon.

"We're working on some language together in the agreement that I'm hopeful will get resolved later today," he told reporters. "It remains to be seen. It's not confirmed yet, but I am hopeful we'll find a resolution."

He said the discussions were centred on pensions for two of the CUPE locals, the major sticking point in the dispute. 

Higgs said if discussions go well he'd like to see schools reopen Monday.

But CUPE New Brunswick Stephen Drost was less optimistic of a breakthrough.

"The premier's still being extremely inflexible," he said as a large crowd of striking union members gathered again at the legislature. "We're always optimistic, we would like to see this settled, but we're not banking on it."

Drost said Higgs is still insisting that the wage offer he has made to all 20,000 workers in the dispute is only available if the two locals move on the pension issue.

"He's insistent that the whole wage package for the whole group … is only on the table if these two convert their pensions," Drost said.

"If they're not prepared to sign those over, the deal for the rest of the groups is off the table."

Even so, those two locals were considering Higgs's proposed language, Drost said.

"They're having a look at it, and if there's a way they can build in some protections for their pension, they may consider it, but there's been nothing agreed to at this time.

"That must be the movement he's referring to."

Several hundred CUPE members circled the legislature Friday morning, including a large number who jammed into a small parking lot near the back entrance that MLAs use to enter and exit the building.

There have been daily protests by workers since Nov. 2, when the session resumed, but Friday's was the largest since that date. 

At one point dozens of CUPE members blocked an RCMP officer from Higgs's security detail from driving a van out of the parking lot. The protest petered out after that.

Thursday's discussions were the first in a week. The premier said he's hoping the meetings will produce something that can be put to a vote by members.

Higgs had been demanding that two of the CUPE locals convert their pension plans into the shared-risk system already in place for most other provincial employees.

On Nov. 4 he asked the union to agree to have actuaries from both sides work out a new retirement mechanism that met certain criteria. 

He said Friday that the new talks are about adding more detail to that proposal to address the concerns of the two locals.

"The nuance is really identifying the criteria in that process that everyone is satisfied with … so they don't have that anxiety.

"I get it, and I'm trying to find ways to put that in words, as are the CUPE leaders, so that we don't make a decision based on the unknown."

Drost also cricitized the government for picking and choosing which CUPE negotiations hinge on the two locals accepting pension changes.

The province is negotiating separately with a CUPE local that represents N.B. Liquor workers and is not making those talks conditional on pension changes elsewhere.

"He's prepared to settle that but not take care of the children's future and their education?" Drost said. 

Higgs also revealed Friday that the province's projected deficit for 2021-22 has changed again because the government is now factoring in the cost of a potential settlement of the dispute.

On Nov. 3, Higgs said an upcoming second-quarter fiscal update would project a surplus of $200 million to $300 million. 

But Friday he said the projection is now $90 million because of the money required to cover retroactive back pay to CUPE members once a deal is reached.

Opposition Liberal Leader Roger Melanson said the evolving figure is a sign Higgs is governing on the fly.

"Changing the number without knowing there's a deal is concerning," he said. "Is there a deal or not? I guess we'll find out soon."