On Tuesday night, August 10, provincial presidents and coordinators of CUPE locals in Parts I, II, III of the New Brunswick public service were invited to a meeting with the Treasury Board and the Premier. The meeting is to be held at 5:30 pm, August 17, 2021, to “discuss a path for bargaining”.
“We are hopeful Premier Higgs wants to meet our provincial locals’ leadership to discuss a reasonable way forward out of the current bargaining impasse in which over 22,000 members are in,” said CUPE NB President Stephen Drost. “The locals have always repeated their willingness to bargain over the last four years or more. We all accepted the invitations immediately, as we expect a productive meeting with the Premier to ensure our members get fairness at each table,” added Drost.
On May 30, Premier Higgs was given a final 100 days’ notice – until Labour Day – to settle collective agreements for all the CUPE locals who have been waiting years for a fair deal.