Second Halifax Long Term Care facility votes to strike

HALIFAX, NS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Workers from Arborstone Enhanced Care in Halifax, represented by CUPE 2784, voted unanimously in favour of a strike mandate last week.

“It was incredibly important to me that we meet with every single one of our fellow long term care workers and talk about the issues and what a strike vote means,” explained CUPE 2784 President Rose-Lynn Demeter. “The solidarity in that process and the end results showed me how important what we’re fighting for is. We need better wages. We need more staff. Every single one of us is feeling the pressure of the cost of living and constantly working short and it’s time the government heard us when we say it can’t go on like this.”

CUPE 2784 joins 7 other CUPE long term care facilities province-wide that have taken strike votes in the past two weeks, with more in progress or scheduled. These actions take place in solidarity with the lead table, CUPE 1082 (St. Vincent’s Nursing Home), who spearheads the coordinated bargaining process in long term care and took their own strike vote at the end of October.

“After two years with an expired contract and four cancelled bargaining dates, we’ve finally been given a wage mandate by the government,” revealed CUPE Long Term Care Coordinator Tammy Martin, “but it does nothing to address the growing and completely legitimate concerns of these workers that their wages aren’t keeping up with inflation or the cost of living. Frankly, it’s insulting.”

Long term care workers in Nova Scotia are the lowest paid in Atlantic Canada, with most support services classifications making less than $20 an hour. The Nova Scotia CCPA estimated that the cost of living in the province ranges from $24-$29 an hour, at a minimum.

“I don’t know about you, but I want the people responsible for taking care of my parents to make more than the basic cost of living. Why? Because they’re the people who make our family members feel at home when they can no longer be there and to me, that’s worth more than I can say,” finished Martin.

Additional bargaining dates have been scheduled for November 17 and 18, 2025.

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