More N.S. long-term care homes join strike, now into fourth week

CITYnews halifax / By Chris Halef

Another long-term care home is set to hit the picket line as a strike continues throughout the province.

Melville Lodge is expected to begin picketing in Halifax on Thursday, followed by Shoreham Village in Chester joining the strike action on Friday.

CUPE’s long-term and community care committee chair says the union will not back down until government returns to the bargaining table.

“This government clearly thinks that ignoring us will force us to give up and go back to work,” said Christa Sweeney in a release. “But the opposite is true.”

The two homes will be joining 30 other long term care homes already on strike, bringing the total number of striking CUPE members to over 3,000.

On Wednesday, CUPE’s national president Mark Hancock visited picket lines in the HRM in solidarity with the workers who’ve been striking for four weeks.

The union and the Nova Scotia government are currently at an impasse, with no current plans to return to the bargaining table.

Barbara Adams, Minister of Seniors and Long-term Care, has previously stated that the government is offering pay increases of at least 12 per cent over four years, while some workers would see pay bumps of up to 24 per cent.