Hospital workers vote 91% in favour of strike

Thousands of health-care workersemployed by theCapital District Health Authorityin Nova Scotia have voted in favour of a strike.

Members of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union Local 42voted 91 per cent in favour of the strike, union president Joan Jessome said Monday.

The 3,800 workers, includinglicensed practical nurses, occupational therapists and medical laboratory technologists, arelooking for a 5.1 per cent wage increase.

"With a strike vote in our hands and a conciliation being the lead to a countdown to strike,I think there'll certainly be movement on the employers to avert job action," said Jessome.

A possible strike is still weeks awayand the two sides are scheduled to return to the bargaining table on April 3 for three days of talks.

There is an emergency services agreement in place in case of a strike or lockout, Jessome said.It keeps services like emergency rooms running, but not at full capacity.

"We do have an emergency services agreement for emergency services only," said Kathy MacNeil, vice president for People Services at the Capital District Health Authority.

"We would be able to provide some levels of care for days, not weeks or months and there's no question that access to care and the types of care delivered would be impacted."

Talks broke down in February between the two sides with wages being the biggest stumbling block in contract negotiations.

Last year, registered nursesreceived a wage increase of 5.1 per cent through binding arbitration, makingthem the highest paid in the Maritimes.

"These workers deserve the same rate increase as the RNs receivedtheywork for the same employers, they work in the same facilityand they deliver health care.It's cost of living issue," Jessome said.

The Capital DistrictHealth Authorityis offering a wage increase ofone per cent in each of the next three years.It also wants concessions on sick time and overtime.

"We're seeing high levels of labour unrest in many areas of our province, so I'm not surprised at all that the members showed up in record numbers and are feeling very strongly that they want to send a message on this issue," MacNeil said.