MCNEIL: NDP GOVERNMENT SHOULD TREAT ALL EMPLOYEES EQUALLY
Date: Thursday November 26, 2009

(Halifax, NS) Liberal leader Stephen McNeil says the NDP government is
creating a two-tiered workforce by forcing non-unionized employees to
shoulder more of the burden for the government’s financial plight than
unionized employees.

“An employee is an employee is an employee and they should be treated
equally, regardless of whether that employee has a union card or not,”
said McNeil. “What’s happened in this province historically is when
a contract was negotiated, the non-union group were given what was
agreed upon with the unionized employees.”

McNeil said the province’s one per cent cap has been expanded beyond
civil servants and now includes non-unionized employees from other
public sectors.

The Liberal leader cited a memo from Treasury Board through the deputy
minister of education announcing that all non-bargaining staff - both
management and non-management - are limited to a one per cent increase
instead of a scheduled 2.9 per cent hike.

The edict from government applies to all provincial enterprises and
government bodies such as Crown corporations, district health
authorities and school boards. The one per cent cap will be imposed on
non-unionized workers over the next two fiscal years.

Over 70 unionized public sector contracts are up for negotiation by
June, 2010 and union leadership has already made it clear that one per
cent pay increases will not be acceptable.

“It’s asking non-unionized Nova Scotians to pay a bigger price to
get us out of this debt,” McNeil said.


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