Thousands of care home employees in New Brunswick voted to ratify an interim agreement, ending a long-running contract dispute that brought them on strike last year. We are a member-oriented organization that focuses on the needs of New Brunswick nurses. The Union assists its members in negotiating collective agreements with employers. Negotiating a collective agreement protects the rights of members, individually and collectively, and is an important part of our advocates for our members. All NBNU collective agreements are negotiated on the basis of the care sector. Over the past two weeks, the 51 care homes represented by NBCNHU have participated in the ratification process of the interim agreement reached on May 26, 2020. The 6-year contract covers the period from October 2016 to October 2022. The majority of the members of the New Brunswick Council of the Union of Citizens (NBCNHU) today approved the interim agreement reached between their negotiating team and the provincial government. „While NBCNHU has advocated for the interim agreement for more than 4,400 members, we all agree that this agreement does not solve all working conditions in our field,” said Sharon Teare, President of the NB Council of Nursing Homes. Throughout our history, we have negotiated many collective agreements, each a step toward a better life for nurses and their patients, clients and residents. More than 4,400 members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees in 51 non-profit homes have voted in secret ballot of the agreement in recent weeks. The New Brunswick Housing Association, which represents the 51 homes and acts as an employer in contract negotiations, said it would work with the union and the province at additional stages for the six homes that voted to reject the offer.
The city council, which represents the residents, had recommended the adoption. She did not mention the six houses that declined the offer and did not offer a percentage vote. „The gains should not be made on the backs of seniors,” Teare said. „It`s not a commodity. They are actually people who deserve a health service, and they should never be excluded from the health care system. „Do they earn more?” You betcha ,” Teare said in an interview.