Halifax, NS – Members of IAM Local Lodge 1763 Political Action Committee – PAC joined striking nurses outside of the Nova Scotia Legislature Thursday morning to protest essential services legislation introduced to end the legal strike.
Contract talks between Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union – NSGEU and Capital Health is at a stalemate. The main issue is the union’s demand for lower nurse-to-patient ratios, something opposed by Capital Health. “I told the nurses they are not alone in their fight against this legislation,” said IAM Local Lodge 1763 PAC member Chris Snelgrove. “As Air Canada workers, we know exactly how it feels when your legal right to strike is taken away from you. It wasn’t acceptable to us and it certainly isn’t acceptable for these nurses either.”
More than 90 surgeries were postponed today and 234 have been delayed since the labour action began. Registered nurses with Nova Scotia’s largest health authority began their legal strike action just after midnight Thursday. This comes two days after the Nova Scotia Labour Board issued a cease and desist order following dozen of nurses who didn’t report for their shifts resulting in cancellation of dozens of surgeries.
