NSNU long-term care employees ratify five-year deal

HALIFAX, N.S. — Long-term care nurses represented by the Nova Scotia Nurses’ Union have voted in favour of adopting a five-year contract focused on wage improvements, premiums, occupational health and safety and work-life balance.

Only three days after reaching a tentative agreement with employers, 98 per cent of the 1,100 licensed practical nurses and registered nurses working in 70 long-term care facilities province-wide approved the new deal.

In addition to an acute-care-competitive wage package, the contract provides increases to the late-career retention bonus and retiree recruitment incentive, as well as new articles and language to assist with nurse retention and recruitment.

“I’m pleased to see 2023 come to a close with an agreement for our valued long-term care nurses,” said Janet Hazelton, NSNU president.

“These nurses work extremely hard. Their work is personally very rewarding, but they also deserve to be compensated fairly for their commitment to one of our most vulnerable populations.”

The NSNU said the agreement will also help address additional issues faced by nurses as acuity of care in nursing homes is at an all-time high and demands on nursing staff have become increasingly more complex.

The deal is retroactive to Nov. 1, 2020, and will expire Oct. 31st, 2025.