Civil Servants voted 94 per cent in favour of rejecting the final offer presented by government. The vote was counted today at noon.
“Our members want an agreement to be negotiated, not dictated”, says Jason MacLean, President of the NSGEU. “It’s time to return to the bargaining table.”
Members working in the Civil Service provide a vast array of important public services. They work in Access Nova Scotia centres, child welfare, corrections, the courts, education, finance, inspections, wildlife, fisheries, mining, tourism, and forestry – just to name a few.
The employer’s final offer is a four year deal with a wage package of 0%,0%,1%, 1.5% and 0.5% on the last day of the contract. Their offer also ends a long-held benefit, called the Public Service Award, which is a deferred wage benefit negotiated in the 80’s to improve recruitment and retention in the Civil Service. It freezes the benefit for all those who are current members and any new hires after April, 2015 would not receive it at all.
“The final offer from the government is not acceptable to our members,” says MacLean. “I’m proud of the members who raised their voices against this offer and stand with the bargaining committee as we proceed to the next steps.”
The next step for negotiations is conciliation and if conciliation fails, proceed to apply for arbitration.
Civil Service members do not have the right to strike. This right is replaced with the right to Interest Arbitration. Labour relations for the Civil Service are covered in the Civil Service Collective Bargaining Act.
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Source: Media Release