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HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia government said it was offering a pay increase of at least 12 per cent to hundreds of workers at long-term care facilities who launched a strike on Monday.
Licensed practical nurses, physiotherapists, continuing-care assistants and housekeeping staff are among the 2,200 workers participating in the strike, which has disrupted services at 22 long-term care homes across the province.
Long-Term Care Minister Barbara Adams said the labour action will cause challenges, but agreements are in place so that essential care continues.
Bargaining between the Nova Scotia government and the striking members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees is for collective agreements that expired in 2023.
Adams said in a statement Sunday afternoon that the government’s four-year offer would increase the wages of some workers by 24 per cent. She said the offer comes with retroactive pay back to 2023 and contains a 70 per cent increase in shift and weekend premiums. There’s also new funding to expand the number of workers eligible to enrol in a defined benefit pension plan.
The minister said that 27 other unionized long-term care homes have already accepted the same offer. In addition, she said home care and hospital employees represented by CUPE have also signed on to the same terms.
“I am hearing that some employees impacted by the strike have not been told what is in the offer even though CUPE leadership rejected the deal without giving members an opportunity to vote. That’s deeply concerning,” said Adams.
CUPE spokesperson Taylor Johnston said in an email Monday that Adams’ statement was “blatant misinformation” and that details of the government’s offer were shared during three town hall meetings with union members in February.
Johnston said the union provided a spreadsheet with the wage offer broken down by classification, complete with percentages and dollar values.
Johnston said it’s standard practice for the elected bargaining committee to only bring an offer to membership when they reach a tentative agreement and Adams is aware of the process.
“However, during this round, we broke from that tradition and showed the rejected offer to members,” Johnston said in an email.
“It is, of course, possible that some members did not see the offer despite our repeated attempts to share it, but to say we didn’t share it is false.”
The union has said its members were forced into the job action to fight for a living wage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 13, 2026.
The Canadian Press
