Rallying for wage increases
Union members say they have walked away from collective bargaining talks
Members of the union representing health-care support staff say their members feel ignored and demoralized after Health P.E.I. offered wage increases that don’t match cost of living pressures.
Members of four locals of the Canadian Union of Public Employees gathered at the Coles Building in Charlottetown on April 11 ahead of a sitting of the legislature.
The locals represent about 1,000 dietary, food prep, cleaning and administration staff in the health-care sector.
The workers say they have walked away from collective bargaining talks with Health P.E.I. after the health authority made a wage increase offer that amounts to a $2.30 per hour increase over three years.
“The majority of our members have told us that they have had to put off dental and eye appointments because they cannot come up with extra,” Lori Mackay, a representative of the CUPE P.E.I. health-care council, told reporters outside of the Coles Building on April 11.
As legislators made their way into the Coles Building for a sitting of the legislature, Mackay had a discussion with Premier Dennis King and Health Minister Mark Mclane.
Mackay said a survey of union members found that most are struggling with the cost of living.
“Eighty-five per cent of those… have said that they don't have enough to make their monthly bills," Mackay told King.
Mackay also noted these health workers were deemed “essential workers” in the early years of the pandemic. Many were responsible for sanitation of health facilities.
“The people that were keeping those facilities going were our members,” she told King.
King said he understood Mackay’s frustration.
“I guess what I would suggest is if we could keep at the table, there's probably a way to find our way through this,” King said.
Contracts for the four CUPE Locals - 805, 1051, 1778, and 1779 – expired in 2023.
Mackay said Health P.E.I. has tabled an offer that would provide wage increases of 10.5 per cent over three years.
The union has proposed what is called a “flat rate” wage increase that would surpass inflation rates that have eaten away at workers’ incomes over the last two years.
Mackay said to do this, the wages would need to rise at
“The majority of our members have told us that they have had to put off dental and eye appointments because they cannot come up with extra.”
Lori Mackay
least another $2-$3 an hour above what has been offered by Health P.E.I.
Mackay said the union’s initial proposal was around a $10 per hour increase over three years. The union has adjusted its proposal downward since then.
CUPE health staff, like several other public sector unions in P.E.I., do not have a right to strike. Mackay said this often means that bargaining relies on arbitrators to hammer out an agreement.
But Mackay said arbitrators often base wage patterns on an estimate of what workers would achieve if they had the right to strike.
“The problem of late is that arbitrators are using that word and terminology in an incorrect way. They're trying to replicate what another (bargaining) group has,” Mackay said.
“And so if that other group can't strike then that's not true replication."
The dissatisfaction of the CUPE locals was raised in the legislature during question period.
Liberal Opposition Leader Hal Perry accused the King government of showing “complete contempt for Island labour.”
"Will you demand your appointed reps at Health P.E.I. to finally engage with these critical workers in the proper manner that they deserve?” Perry said.
Health Minister Mark Mclane said he would not negotiate in public. He said the union negotiations are in the midst of a conciliation process.
“As we know during negotiations, one group's up here, one group is here. We try to meet in the middle. And that's what our team is doing,” Mclane said.