HALIFAX - A strike by employees of the Halifax County Regional Rehabilitation Centre (HCRRC) appears imminent.
The workers have set a July 5th strike deadline, and the chances of both sides getting back to the table before that are slim.
CUPE National Representative, Linda Thurston-Neeley says, “At this point, both sides in the dispute - labour and management - are being held at bay by Community and Social Services Minister Peter Christie, whose department is the main funding source of the Centre.
“The employer continues to wait for a mandate from the provincial government to give these workers access to a provincial transition program,” says Thurston-Neeley.
The Rehab Centre has now closed with some staff and clients being moved to a temporary facility at Sunrise Manor and two so-called ’small options homes’. Picket lines will be going up at the new facilities on Friday if a settlement is not reached.
The major issue of severance for employees who will lose their jobs when the facility closes remains unresolved.
The union is arguing that the workers should have access to the government’s Transition Support Program (TSP), as NSGEU members, Nova Scotia Highway Workers (CUPE Local 1867), and others have had.
Many of the displaced CUPE employees have over 20 years’ service at the Centre and face the prospect of losing their jobs with no severance or retraining options.
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For further information:
Linda Thurston-Neeley, CUPE National Representative
(902) 455-4180 (o) - (902) 452-9979 (cell)
John McCracken, CUPE Communications Representative
(902) 455-4180 (o)