News Release

FREDERICTON (GNB) – Social Development Minister Dorothy Shephard is encouraging the New Brunswick Association of Nursing Homes and the New Brunswick Council of Nursing Home Unions to return to the bargaining table and resume negotiations.

“Nursing home workers play a key role in the care residents receive on a daily basis. I have witnessed first-hand the tremendous care they provide and how close they become with residents and their families,” said Shephard. “Balancing fiscal responsibility with ensuring these workers are compensated fairly is important. We encourage the parties to return to the table as soon as possible and we remain hopeful an agreement can be reached.”

Earlier this week, the provincial government applied for a judicial review of the Labour and Employment Board’s December 2018 decision regarding the legislation on essential services in the event of a strike.

While government is not the employer of nursing home workers, Shephard noted that collective agreements in the nursing home sector have typically followed wage settlement patterns for hospital workers, ensuring wage parity between the two sectors.

“Our priority is the health and safety of residents,” said Shephard. “We are working closely with the Nursing Home Association of New Brunswick to ensure contingency plans are in place for every possible scenario, but we hope it does not get to that stage.”