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Unionized employees with Seaview Manor are in conciliation talks today with the assistance of the Department of Labour.

CUPE National Representative Kathy MacLeod says there are a number of outstanding issues in the contract talks.  Says MacLeod, “The biggest one of all is the fact there is simply not enough staff at the facility, in particular, the dietary department, despite repeated assurances from this employer that they would be hiring more staff.

As a result,” says MacLeod, “our members have to work short on a regular basis as well as having extreme difficulty taking their vacations or their sick time.  This is an untenable situation for employees at Seaview Manor and it has to be addressed in this round of bargaining.”

Local 2094 President Mae Smith says, “We have tried several times to work with the employer to address these issues, but without hiring more staff we are simply coming up with band-aid solutions. “

From the union’s perspective, you can’t have a truly stable workforce when more than one third of tour staff is Casuals.  We need more permanent employees with predictable schedules to fix this problem,” says Smith.

Adds Smith, “With 16% unemployment rates in Cape Breton, surely we can find some folks who would like a unionized job at this facility.”