Mulling over final government offer, nurses union says

The Newfoundland and Labrador Nurses' Union confirmed Wednesday it is considering a final offer from Treasury Board, that may resolve a long-running dispute over wages, benefits and recruitment issues.

A NLNU official said, however, that the union is sticking by a media blackout that both sides imposed on themselves last week, when formal bargaining resumed for the first time in months.

The union said it has until Monday to respond to the offer, and that its negotiating team is reviewing it.

The contents of the offer have not been revealed, although the Newfoundland and Labrador government bought a prominent advertisement in Wednesday's edition of the St. John's Telegram that outlines what it called "a revised offer."

The ad echoes details that Finance Minister Jerome Kennedy revealed last week while bringing down the provincial budget.

The government at the time said it was prepared to concede to a key nurses' demand that it raise starting wages as well as the top pay that nurses can receive. 

The advertisement said the starting salary for a newly hired nurse will jump from $45,792 to $60,001 over a proposed four-year contract. The government said its offer includes a compounded 21.5 per cent raise, in line with what most other public sector unions have accepted.

The top-tier salary jumps from $58,511 to $74,295 over the four-year offer, the advertisement says.

The union had been lobbying for a two-year contract.

The NLNU went into the talks with a strike mandate from its more than 5,000 members, most of whom work at the province's four regional health authorities.