Higgs to meet with CUPE Thursday as opposition to single 'wage mandate' heats up
CBC
The Higgs government will meet with the Canadian Union of Public Employees on Thursday in the hopes of restarting contract talks, even as another union said it would be prepared to fight any back-to-work bill imposing wage settlements across the public sector.
New Brunswick Nurses Union president Paula Doucet says her members won't accept a so-called wage mandate that Premier Blaine Higgs could use to end the strike.
And she would not rule out a legal challenge to such a law.
"We have some legal [people] here in our office that would definitely put their eyes to that," Doucet says.
Higgs repeated his warning Wednesday that if he uses back-to-work legislation to end the CUPE strike, it will include a wage mandate imposing uniform increases on those union locals and all other public-sector workers.
Doucet says that would be an insult to nurses who've been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020 and who have twice rejected tentative agreements on a new contract.
"Having something mandated to them now is another slap in the face," she said.
"Nurses are tired and frustrated and exhausted, and they're just really looking for some recognition here as well as better working conditions and fair compensation, and they're not getting that now."
Higgs told reporters Wednesday morning he still hopes to avoid using legislation to end the dispute, which began last Friday.
"I'd like to remain optimistic that we will still be able to work out a negotiated settlement with CUPE, and the opportunity for us to get back to the table is real."
Not long afterward, CUPE New Brunswick spokesperson Simon Ouellette confirmed that union officials will meet government representatives Thursday at 1 p.m.
"I can confirm the premier has invited CUPE leadership to meet tomorrow at 1 p.m.," Higgs's spokesperson Nicolle Carlin said in a statement.
Ouellette said it's not clear whether it's a return to bargaining or just a meeting to discuss restarting negotiations.
Around 20,000 CUPE members in 10 locals began striking last Friday after a second breakdown in contract negotiations. The locals have been without contracts for years. One, representing court stenographers, saw its last agreement expire in 2016.
WARNING: This story contains profanity and details of racist language.
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