Collective agreements signed with two New Brunswick public service unions

Two public service unions representing more than 14,000 workers in New Brunswick signed collective agreements this week. 

The agreements cover workers in the NB Council of Hospital Unions and the NB Council of Nursing Home Unions, both of them part of the Canadian Union of Public Employees. 

On Thursday, the provincial government announced the agreement with the NB Council of Hospital Unions, also known as CUPE Local 1252. 

The union includes some 9,600 workers with the regional health authorities and Extra-Mural/Ambulance New Brunswick, including patient care attendants, tradespeople, food service workers and other roles. 

“These committed professionals are essential to our health-care system, providing valuable services that improve the health outcomes of many residents in New Brunswick,” Finance and Treasury Board Minister René Legacy stated in a media release.

The deal involves a $5 per hour wage increase over four years, retroactive to July 1, 2024, according to the province. 

“Employees will receive hourly wage increases of $1 in the first year, $1.10 in the second year, $1.30 in the third year and $1.60 in the fourth year.”

The agreement also involves “incentives and premiums to address recognition and retention issues, along with increases to the standby rate and shift premiums.”

Nursing home workers

The union representing more than 4,500 nursing home workers also signed a new collective agreement this week.

The New Brunswick Council of Nursing Home Unions said the “hard-fought agreement marks a historic win for nursing home workers” in a press release announcing the deal. 

“The new agreement includes annual wage increases of more than one dollar per hour for each year of the agreement,” according to the union. “This was reached without any concessions on working conditions or benefits.” 

The union signed the agreement with NB Association of Nursing Homes on Wednesday.

Under the new contract, nursing home workers will “achieve wage parity with healthcare workers” by 2028, when the contract expires, according to the union.

Wages for nursing home workers have long fallen short of a living wage in New Brunswick. 

Members of the union include licensed practical nurses, personal support workers, cooks, and janitorial staff, among others working at some 52 nursing homes across the province. 

Their previous contract expired in late 2022, and negotiations faltered with the Conservative government of former Premier Blaine Higgs. 

“Workers stood strong, and I commend their resolve and their activism through a long but ultimately fruitful negotiation process,” union president Sharon Teare said in the statement. “Their determination has paid off.” 

Liberal Premier Susan Holt has taken steps to repair the relationship between unions and government, including the lifting of a Higgs-era edict that banned three union leaders from the Legislative Assembly, including Teare. 

Teare said the deal would help to address chronic recruitment and retention problems, leading to better care for seniors.