Thousands of New Brunswick nursing home workers hold strike vote

Thousands of nursing home workers around the province are voting Thursday on whether they support a strike. 

More than 4,100 members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees who work for the New Brunswick Association of Nursing Homes began voting around 7 a.m. 

Votes will be counted in the evening and results released Friday morning.

The workers include licensed practical nurses, resident attendants, dietary and laundry workers and some clerical workers at 46 nursing homes. 

"We don't want to go on strike," said Bev Harper, a worker at Kenneth E. Spencer Memorial Home after voting in Moncton. "We want the government to sit down with us, we want them to negotiate."

While the association is the employer, the provincial government provides its funding. 

Dorothy Shephard, the minister of social development, urged the sides to return to the bargaining table at a news conference Thursday afternoon.

Shephard wouldn't say whether the province would make more funding available to the association to meet the union's demands.

The minister also wouldn't say if the government would recall the legislature to pass back-to-work legislation if a strike occurs.

Strike not automatic

Union spokesperson Patrick Roy of the New Brunswick Council of Nursing Home Locals said he expects members will provide a "strong" strike mandate. 

But he said that doesn't mean the union will automatically go on strike. The union must provide 24 hours' notice before a strike can take place. 

The workers' last contract expired in 2016. Union members rejected a tentative agreement in May 2018 that included a one per cent pay increase per year over a four-year contract.

Current wages range between $18 and $24 an hour, depending on the position. 

Wages, workload concerns

Harper said members last went on strike in 2001. Since then, she said, their workload has continued to increase. 

"People are getting frustrated," she said. "We feel it in our heads, we feel it in our hearts, we feel it in our bodies trying to care for these people that deserve the care — they're paying for the care — and right now we're to the point we're so frustrated.

"We haven't had a decent raise in the last 10 to eight years and we think we deserve a little bit more."

Shona Scott-Powley is worried about what a possible strike could mean for her 90-year-old mother who has lived at Passamaquoddy Lodge in Saint Andrews for five years. 

She said she was called by the nursing home to ask if she could come in as a volunteer if a strike occurs. She agreed to help, but is worried. 

"It makes me feel afraid," Scott-Powley said. "I think that the senior people are at risk. This is flu season. The people that will come in may be well-intended, as I am. But we are not in the know of how to deal with many things here."

Shephard said the province has asked all nursing homes to have a plan in place to continue operating. 

"It's going to be the employer who needs to put those actions in place," she said. 

The association said in a statement it is working with the 46 nursing homes and government to "be as prepared as possible for any work action."

"We are continuing to work with all parties to ensure that the health and safety of residents is protected," the association said.

No longer essential services

New Brunswick passed a law in 2009 deeming nursing home workers an essential service, meaning many would be forced to remain on the job in the event of a strike. 

But a labour board ruling in December and a clarification earlier this week means none are considered essential. The provincial government announced Wednesday it will seek a judicial review of the decision, though it's not clear when that could take place. 

"There's a bit of ambiguity in the labour board's ruling," Shephard told reporters. "So we need some clarity in that."

​The 46 nursing homes where workers are voting on whether they support a strike include: 

• Dalhousie Nursing Home, Dalhousie
• Mount St. Joseph Nursing Home, Miramichi
• Miramichi Senior Citizens Home, Miramichi
• Villa Providence Shediac, Shediac, N.-B.
• Villa Beauséjour, Caraquet
• Les Résidences Mgr. Chiasson, Shippagan
• Victoria Glen Manor, Perth-Andover
• York Manor, Fredericton
• Foyer Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, Bathurst
• Carleton Manor, Woodstock
• Rocmaura Nursing Home, Saint John
• Kenneth E. Spencer Memorial Home, Moncton
• Grand Manan Nursing Home, Grand Manan
• Villa du Repos, Moncton
• Les Résidences Lucien Saindon, Lamèque
• Church of St. John and St. Stephen Home, Saint John
• Central New Brunswick Nursing Home, Boiestown
• Campbellton Nursing Home, Campbellton
• Kiwanis Nursing Home, Sussex
• Campobello Lodge, Campobello
• Mill Cove Nursing Home, Mill Cove
• Forest Dale Home, Riverside-Albert
• The Salvation Army Lakeview Manor, Riverview
• Foyer Ste-Elizabeth, Baker Brook
• Le Manoir de Grand-Sault, Grand-Sault
• Résidences Mgr. Melanson, Saint-Quentin
• Villa Sormany, Robertville
• Lincourt Manor, St. Stephen
• Foyer St-Thomas de la Vallée de Memramcook, Memramcook
• Les Résidences Inkerman, Inkerman
• Drew Nursing Home, Sackville
• Kennebec Manor, Saint John
• Tobique Valley Manor, Plaster Rock
• Jordan Lifecare Centre, River Glade
• Villa St-Joseph, Tracadie-Sheila
• Turnbull Nursing Home, Saint John
• Foyer Notre-Dame de Saint-Léonard, Saint-Léonard
• River View Manor, Bath
• Tabusintac Nursing Home, Tabusintac
• Dr. V. A. Snow Centre, Hampton
• La Villa Maria, Saint-Louis de Kent
• Foyer Assomption, Rogersville
• Kings Way Care Centre, Quispamsis
• Residence Jodin, Edmundston
• Le Complexe Rendez-Vous, Neguac