Health-care workers vote to accept new agreement with N.S. Health, IWK

Members of three unions representing more than 9,100 health-care professionals at Nova Scotia Health and the IWK Health Centre have agreed to ratify a tentative collective bargaining agreement reached by the council representing all three groups last month.

In a release Thursday, officials from CUPE, Unifor and the NSGEU, the three unions that make up the bargaining unit, said 79 per cent of members voted in favour of the deal. 

Members work in fields including physiotherapy, psychology, lab staff, continuing care, social work and pharmacy.

Wage increases are included in the new agreement, but the unions said they depend on a member's occupation, seniority and how their compensation compares to others doing the same job elsewhere in Atlantic Canada. 

All members will receive basic economic adjustments of three per cent effective Nov. 1, 2023, and two per cent effective Nov. 1, 2024.

"This deal was tough to achieve, but is fair," said NSGEU president Sandra Mullen in the release. "It recognizes the critical role these health care professionals play in delivering the care Nova Scotians so desperately need." 

The government said in a release that the new contract will run retroactively from Nov. 1, 2023, to Oct. 31, 2025. 

"This agreement shows healthcare workers that we want to keep them in Nova Scotia, sets wages and benefits that will help in recruitment and retention, and allows us to continue the transformation into a modern, high-performing healthcare system," said Health Minister Michelle Thompson. 

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