Workers from Harbour View Haven participated in a rally calling for improved working conditions. Photo: Cheyenne Nelson
When the Nova Scotia government announced on Wednesday afternoon that they would be increasing wages for continuing care assistants (CCA) it came as a shock to their union as negotiations for a new collective agreement were scheduled to begin on Thursday.
“We got a call about twenty minutes before the announcement was made, and although it’s a good start we still have lots of questions,” said Nan McFadgen President of CUPE NS who represents CCAs in the province.
The province’s plan will see wages for unionized and non-unionized CCAs at all levels in the publicly-funded sector will increase by approximately 23 per cent effective Thursday, February 10, bringing the top annual salary to $48,419. For most full-time CCAs, this is an annual increase of close to $9,000 a year.
McFadgen says as they begin bargaining today they will be trying to iron out the details of the wage increase, in regards to things like retroactivity and implementation.
She also says there is still lots to discuss at the bargaining table outside of wages. Some other key things CCAs want are
With CCAs seeing a wage increase McFadgen hopes it is the start of more to come for those working in similar fields, “It’s great for the CCAs but working right next to them are lots of people like cooks, cleaners, and other staff that are equally overworked and underpaid that will now be hoping for their own wage increase.”
Earlier in the year staff at long-term care homes across the province held rallies to raise awareness on being underpaid and overworked.
Whether the rallies had a direct impact is unknown but Barbara Adams, Minister of Seniors and Long-Term Care says they have heard the concerns of many healthcare employees and are now starting to chip away at them.
“Continuing care assistants deserve not only our respect and gratitude for the critically important work they do and the sacrifices they’ve made over the past two years; they also deserve to be paid more and get help and relief from more staff in their workplaces. We’re listening to their concerns, and we’re making investments to improve working conditions, hire more staff, and give them a much-needed raise in pay.”
-Barabra Adams
McFadgen says many other unions will be interested in how things unfold as she says giving a wage increase the day before bargaining begins is unprecedented.
