Healthcare Workers Contract Has Been Ratified.
The Council of Health Care Unions ratified a two-year agreement with Nova Scotia Health and IWK Health, today, September 12.
The bargaining unit has 9,100 healthcare workers in more than 180 job classifications, including physiotherapists, lab staff, psychologists, continuing care assistants, social workers and pharmacists.
“We thank the Council of Health Care Unions and the health authority negotiating team for their work achieving this agreement,” said Health and Wellness Minister Michelle Thompson. “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.”
The contract includes:
- economic increases of 3 per cent on November 1, 2023, and 2 per cent on November 1, 2024
- paramedic hourly wages at NSH will be aligned with paramedics employed by Emergency Health Services
- a special adjustment of 2.5 per cent to all classifications except paramedics and continuing care assistants (they received targeted increases before or during this agreement)
- two additional steps added to pay scales valued at 2.5 per cent on October 31, 2024, and 2.5 per cent on October 31, 2025, to support retention and recruitment.
- two targeted wage adjustments of up to 2.5 per cent wage adjustments on November 1, 2024, and April 1, 2025, in an effort to move certain classifications up to but not surpassing the leading wage rate in Atlantic Canada, which will support retention and recruitment
- increases to shift and weekend premiums to support evening and weekend access to care
- streamlined recruitment language to bring qualified employees into the organization faster.
The contract runs from November 1, 2023 to October 31, 2025.
Quick Facts:
- Including the Health Care Bargaining unit agreements, 291 collective agreements have been reached by government or government-funded organizations since 2021.
Source : Provincial Release
