Nova Scotia health-care administration workers ratify new five-year contract

Details of a new contract for 5,000-plus health administration employees in Nova Scotia have been revealed following a ratification vote.

The Nova Scotia Government & General Employees Union said 77 per cent of the Health Administrative Professionals bargaining unit voted to accept the Oct. 11 offer from the government.

The retroactive contract includes cumulative wage increases totalling between 15.15 to 22.75 per cent over five years (2020-2024) and “pattern economic adjustments totalling 6.5 per cent over the first three years,” according to a union news release.

All pay grades are getting 1.5 per cent bumps dating back to Nov. 1, 2020, and 2021 and a retroactive increase of three per cent on Nov. 1, 2022.

The next increase for all grades is on Oct. 31, 2023, followed by another 3 per cent bump due to economic adjustments the next day, Nov. 1, 2023.

The contract rounds out on Nov. 1, 2024, with a two per cent increase.

Back-dated adjustments include two $1 per hour increases for anyone earning less than $20 per hour as of Oct. 31, 2022, and an additional 80 cents per hour for everyone before the Nov. 1, 2023 hike.

The union noted the deal also includes significantly increased shift and weekend premiums and substantive improvements in various leave provisions.

“It is important to note, however, that even with the significant financial gains achieved here, there are members of this bargaining unit who will still be earning less than what is considered to be a living wage, and we will be looking to rectify that during the next round of bargaining,” the union noted in its release.