Nursing home workers protest outside the Turnbull Home in Saint John. (Photo Credit: Tamara Steele)
Nursing home workers in the province are not happy with Premier Blaine Higgs’ recent remarks on using binding arbitration to solve the dispute.
On Friday, Higgs said he would only consider binding arbitration if there were conditions in place that would prevent the arbitrator from offering more than a 1 per cent annual wage increase, something workers voted heavily against in 2016.
This comes after the Liberals had introduced a motion in the legislature on Thursday calling on the government to go down the route of binding arbitration. No vote was held on the motion as time had run out for the day.
Nursing home workers had hoped binding arbitration would solve the issue of low wages and lack of wage increases.
In a release, the President of New Brunswick Council of Nursing Home Unions spokesperson Sharon Teare says it is obvious the government fears an impartial arbitrator and wants to remain in control of the situation.
She says binding arbitration is the only avenue left to solve the dispute.
She continued to note that since the workers have lost their right to strike, they are stuck “in limbo” as they wait for answers and a fair deal.
