Inflation ‘absolutely’ top issue for unionized workers: NSGEU president

Sandra Mullen, president of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, said at Monday’s Labour Day march she met with Halifax Mayor Mike Savage in person intentionally “just to remind him who we are” for the signing of a contract in late July.

The contract was the first between the Halifax Regional Municipality and the NSGEU, which this year signed up 800 inside workers with the city, plus the supervisors that work for Halifax Transit.

The union has grown to more than 36,000 members, and has had to hire another staff member at head office as a result.

All those members, according to Mullen, have one main thing on their mind.

“Absolutely, inflationary costs,” she said. “There’s no question. Nova Scotia, like many provinces in this country, has a housing crisis, and our members face that, too. They can get a job, the employment opportunities are out there, but where are you going to live? And the rents they’re facing!”

Mullen said as other provinces begin to address not keeping up with inflation over the past several years, government employees in Nova Scotia are taking note.

“As our members see what’s going on in other parts of the country, and see what workers are doing, sometimes we get what we think is a good deal and they reject it, because it’s not good enough,” she said referencing tentative agreements reached for Nova Scotia Health and IWK Health Centre administrative workers that were rejected by the rank and file.

“There’s no question. Nova Scotia, like many provinces in this country, has a housing crisis, and our members face that, too. They can get a job, the employment opportunities are out there, but where are you going to live? And the rents they’re facing!”

– Sandra Mullen, NSGEU president

“On top of all that is recruitment and retention, so places where there are a number of opportunities in the health-care sector, they’ve got to have a decent wage to get them in.”

Mullen said of all the different types of workers represented by the NSGEU, the health-care sector has the hardest time with retention, especially with people working in group homes and home care.

“They are needed everywhere … so every organization is looking for the same people,” she said. “The 811 folks who answer the phone calls…from the public across the province, they are some of the lowest-paid people in the province in the health-care sector.

“They want you to call 811 to register that you need a family doctor . … They cannot keep staff, and how can they at $17 an hour? Our fast-food outlets are sometimes paying more than that, with benefits. I’ve never seen that. That’s what these folks are up against, and government has to listen.”

Mullen is from Weymouth and said she is 45 minutes away from any health-care site, so she knows first-hand how crucial are the people on the other end of the phone line.

“They’re very helpful in identifying where there is a doctor at an outpatients department,” she said. “So, it’s important, and government needs to respect the work they are doing.

“I understand at one time there were 10 support-service jobs vacant in Yarmouth. I worked in that area for a number of years, and that (used to be) coveted work, but they couldn’t get folks to come for the wage that was being paid. So, our support-services members last goaround got a really huge increase to get up to that $20 an hour.”

Mullen, who is also the first vice-president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour, which has 70,000 members, said negotiations “to identify who has to stay behind in the event of a strike,” are happening, and on the horizon are talks on a new contract for the NSGEU’S health-care group.

“That’s the folks who administer all the services, ortho techs, anesthesia techs, medical lab, all the ones who work in the hospital,” she said.

“We have 140 professions within 3,000 members. Very complex . … And if those folks go out on strike, you can’t operate that hospital. Can’t do a whole lot without our admin professionals, either, they’re the ones who set up appointments.

“All the unions, we’re all in this together, and what one deal is impacts us all.”