NAPE says no to status quo
Expiration looms on collective agreements with government
The leader of Newfoundland and Labrador's largest union for public-sector employees says it won't accept the status quo when it comes to the next round of negotiations with the provincial government.
Jerry Earle, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador
Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE), made the comment at the union's biennial convention Thursday. The two-day event is being held at the Delta Hotel in St. John's, with hundreds of delegates in attendance.
“In this round of bargaining, what we have said, and in the last round of bargaining, is we've contributed significantly to this province,” Earle said, speaking with reporters after delivering a keynote address Thursday morning.
“We didn’t create the problem. … Every Newfoundlander and Labradorian has seen (the cost of living) increase, just like our members working in the public sector. So what our message is — and we can’t predict what’s going to happen in collective bargaining — is the status quo, we will not accept.”
A collective agreement with correctional officers expires next Thursday, with the majority of the union’s agreements with the government ending
FROM A1: NAPE
March 31, 2020. Earle said 15 negotiating teams will get to work in the coming months.
Earle did credit the province for continuing to talk with NAPE over the last couple of years, adding that the union has a good relationship with the government.
“I applaud this government for opening that line of communication, especially within the last two years,” he said. “We’ve had productive conversations. We’ve told them where we are. We’re prepared to go to the bargaining table.”
The provincial government has faced fiscal challenges in recent years largely tied to a decline in the price of oil and the rising cost of providing services, particularly in health care. The province is operating on deficit budgets and its net debt is increasing. Of late, wage freezes have been a common aspect of agreements between NAPE and the government.
Earle is aware of these problems, but says there are ways the province can help frontline workers in a new collective agreement.
“We just heard a report that talked about Nalcor being topheavy. They have hundreds of people with excessive salaries. Our members on the front lines don’t make excessive money. Workers in Newfoundland and Labrador don’t have excessive incomes. … We know the problems as challenges, but we believe there are ways we’ll be able to address those. If not, we’re going to be in a major problem. Just recruitment and retention, we’re already having difficulty recruiting people because of salaries. That’s showing in health care.”
NAPE is currently attempting to get new deals for homecare workers.
“Home care is at a very critical point,” Earle said. “We’ve been in conciliation. We have 27 agents to negotiate for. There are 20 that we’ve been in conciliation with. The employers just weren’t taking the bargaining committee seriously, so we have grave concerns. We’ve asked for a written report. … The bottom line is if we don’t reach a collective agreement, we’ll go consult with our members. They provide invaluable service and they’re primarily women — over 95 per cent. I believe there’s a path there.
Behind the scenes there’s been some conversations that we’ve been having. I believe we can find a resolution.”
In all negotiations, Earle said the union wants to avoid job action, but added it’s the workers’ right to consider that option. In the last two years, workers represented by NAPE have ratified 51 collective agreements. The only instance where job action occurred during that time was when the Town of Paradise locked out unionized employees.
“Unions get blamed for it most often, but we’re not the ones that most often initiate the labour dispute,” Earle said. “I’m hoping we can work through it.”