Premier says there's a 'path forward' for CUPE to end strike
CBC
Premier Blaine Higgs says the Canadian Union of Public Employees was recommending an offer to its members to end their week-long strike after a marathon meeting Thursday.
Higgs said in question period Friday morning that "we had a path forward when we left last night" that CUPE leaders promised to recommend to members, so he was disappointed to see health-care workers still picketing.
"We had an agreement last night," he said. But he said there was a "condition" attached to it about health-care workers returning to their jobs quickly.
Higgs said Attorney-General Ted Flemming and Health Minister Dorothy Shephard "are reviewing our options at this stage," a reference to the possibility of back-to-work legislation or the use of the province's emergency order to end the strike.
"We are in a pandemic," Higgs said. "We will address the issues in our hospitals. … We will be moving forward to get health-care workers back to work."
His comments came as the strike hit the one-week mark. The first of several CUPE locals representing 20,000 workers walked off the job the morning of Oct. 29.
Drost arrived for the meeting with Higgs on Thursday at 1 p.m. and left at 8:45 p.m.
The dispute has focused on CUPE's push for wage increases, but Higgs is insisting that the union also agree to shift two of the union locals into the province's shared-risk pension plan.
CUPE has scheduled a news conference for 11 a.m. outside the legislature. Union spokesperson Simon Ouellette said in a text message that what Higgs said in the legislature about an agreement was not true.
Ouellette said the full bargaining team, which was not at Thursday's meeting, looked at the province's offer and "wrote a counter-proposal and sent it to the premier early this a.m."
He said Higgs has not yet responded.
Higgs said during question period that the province had received a response from CUPE but would not say what it was.
But he said the union had raised "something additional" that wasn't part of Thursday's discussions.
"We are now focused on the emergency order and the health-care system in our province."
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