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New Brunswicks court stenographers (CUPE Local 1840) have been awarded a raise that exceeds the settlement pattern set by the provincial government. An arbitrator ruled that the stenos were underpaid by standards within the province and elsewhere in the Maritimes, awarding an increase of 15.2 to 17.2 per cent raise over 4 years.

This is an important victory for the stenographers, according to Anne-Marie Ct002c a member of the locals bargaining committee. We are satisfied. This is a step in the right direction.

The court stenographers stood up for justice, added provincial coordinator Bob Hickes. They won this battle. In the next round of bargaining we are ready to achieve real wage parity.

The wage increases are retroactive to October 1999. New Brunswicks sixty-three court stenographers, all of whom are women, walked off the job in September 2000, after it became clear the province had no interest in meeting their demands for pay equity.

The strike went on for 19 weeks, the longest ever in New Brunswick, and ended only after both sides agreed to binding arbitration.