Nova Scotia’s healthcare system may soon come under even more strain. The unions representing over 5,000 healthcare administration workers have voted in favour of a strike.
Sandra Mullen is the president of the NSGEU, one of three unions representing the workers, along with Unifor and CUPE. She said there is till work to be done before a strike takes place.
“Before we can even call a strike date, we have to negotiate an essential service plan,” said Mullen.
An essential service plan is a measure put in place by the government to ensure that should a strike occur in a field of work deemed essential; some level of staff would remain in place to ensure that the needs of the public are met.
“It has to be determined how many members would be required to be at work, how many units could be with zero staff… those measures take a while to determine, and we will be working on that,” said Mullen.
Mullen says the unions draw examples of what the essential service plan may look like from holiday staffing schedules, when many employees take time off to be with their families. She said that in some cases, no staff will be able to go on strike, such as those who work in the cancer unit.
Regardless of how many staff end up on picket lines, Mullen says their work and skills would be sorely missed.
No date has been set yet as to when a strike may happen.
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