Roughly 3,600 N.S. long-term care workers on strike as another home joins picket line

A long-term care home in New Glasgow, N.S., is going on strike Wednesday, joining thousands of CUPE workers who have been on the picket line for six weeks.

A long-term care home in New Glasgow, N.S., is going on strike Wednesday, joining thousands of workers who have been on the picket line for improved wages since mid April.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 2330 said its members at the Glen Haven Manor are set to go on strike at 7 a.m. on Wednesday.

According to the Glen Haven Manor website, it is one of the largest long-term care facilities in Nova Scotia. It has 200 resident beds and 20 housing units.

CUPE, which represents workers at 52 long-term care homes in the province, announced the strike on April 13. Since then they have met with the government at the negotiating table, but have yet to reach a deal.

“For 7 weeks, these workers have been providing essential care for 8, 12 hours a day, and then marching in picket lines because they believe in what we’re fighting for,” said Christa Sweeney, CUPE long term and community care committee chair, in a news release.

“Despite what Premier Houston and Minister Adams are saying in the media, the workers know what the government has offered just like they know they deserve better.”

Barbara Adams, minister of seniors and long-term care, previously told CTV News Atlantic the government made a “competitive offer” that includes a 12 to 24 per cent pay raise and a 70 per cent increase in shift premiums.

The full list of the 36 long-term care homes on strike includes:

• Melville Lodge in Halifax
• Admiral and White Hills Long Term Care Centres in Halifax
• Maplestone Enhanced Care in Halifax
• St. Vincent’s Nursing Home in Halifax
• Shoreham Village in Chester
• Grand View Manor in Berwick
• Alderwood Rest Home in Baddeck
• Magnolia Continuing Care Centre in Enfield
• Richmond Villa in St. Peter’s
• Lunenburg Home for Special Care in Lunenburg
• Northside Community Guest Home in North Sydney
• Harbourstone Enhanced Care in Sydney River
• Shiretown Nursing Home in Pictou
• Ivey’s Terrace Nursing Home in Trenton
• Bayside Home in Barrington
• Maple Hill Manor in New Waterford
• Seaview Manor in Glace Bay
• Maritime Odd Fellows in Pictou
• Valley View Manor in Stellarton
• Ocean View Continuing Care in Eastern Passage
• Bisset Court in Cole Harbour
• Glasgow Hall in Dartmouth
• Queen’s Manor in Liverpool
• Villa St. Joseph-du-Lac in Dayton
• Roseway Manor in Shelburne
• Celtic Court in Membertou
• The Birches in Musquodoboit Harbour
• Port Hawkesbury Nursing Home in Port Hawkesbury
• St. Anne Nursing Care Centre in Arichat
• Ryan Hall in Bridgewater
• Surf Lodge in Lockeport
• The Meadows in Yarmouth
• Ivy Meadows in Beaver Bank
• Inverary Manor in Inverness
• Foyer Père Fiset in Chéticamp
• Glen Haven Manor in New Glasgow

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