Premier Higgs examines options after CUPE strike affecting New Brunswick health care

FREDERICTON – The Premier of New Brunswick has said he will use the next 24 hours to explore his options to end a strike by thousands of unionized provincial workers after the labor action impacts services in the health Saturday.

Blaine Higgs said a COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Fredericton has been canceled and COVID-19 tests were not available at some hospitals and other facilities.

This is the latest disruption from the strike, which began when approximately 22,000 members of the New Brunswick branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees left work on Thursday.

“The health and safety of New Brunswickers is the number one concern of our government,” Higg said at a press conference Saturday afternoon. “The pandemic has put additional strain on our province’s health system. Now CUPE’s actions are escalating that tension and… impacting the residents of our province.

In a social media post on Saturday, Horizon Health Network said it was evaluating health services in the wake of the strike and would notify the public of any changes.

“We are committed to providing essential health services to our patients and clients throughout the strike and our emergency services will remain open,” he wrote.

Higgs said he could use the province’s emergency measures law to force employees back to work, but planned to take the next 24 hours to assess his options.

“I don’t take back to work legislation lightly,” he said. “It’s only in a situation where we think that’s the only option available to us.”

The prime minister said he was shocked the union was considering action to work in the health care system.

While many union employees are deemed essential and must report for work, Higgs said CUPE refused to change the essential services agreement to include people who test for COVID-19.

“It’s almost as if the plan had been worked out some time ago that this would be a time when the ultimate pressure could be on the government putting people’s health at risk,” Higgs said.

Wages are the main issue at stake for striking workers.

Before contract negotiations broke Tuesday night, the union was seeking a 12% increase over four years, without conditions. The government confirmed on Thursday that it was offering an 8.5% pay rise over a five-year period.

Higgs called the government’s offer, which includes pension improvements, fair. He said the main stumbling block is CUPE’s national union and its pressure on local representatives.

But CUPE New Brunswick president Steve Drost accused the premier of continually trying to blame the union, noting that provincial members voted 94 percent in favor of a strike.

He said most union members haven’t had a proper raise for 15 years and remain among the lowest-paid workers in the country.

In an interview on Saturday, Drost said it would be “unhappy” if the government ordered strikers to return to work.

“Any kind of legislation like this would certainly be an abuse of power and an abuse of power,” he said. “It’s totally unnecessary.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on October 30, 2021.