The Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union were going to file for arbitration this week.
They’ve put that aside to begin another round of conciliation talks with their employer.
President of the NSGEU, Jason MacLean says they just want a contract for their members.
“We are there to get a deal. We’ve been pushed and kicked around around for the last three and a half years and we’re still standing here saying “you know what we can get a deal, we can get it at the table. Let fairness reign.”
MacLean says he’s been assured by government, if a deal can’t be reached after these talks, the province will not stand in the way of arbitration.
The province has laid out a wage proposal of no raises in the first two years, 1% in the third, 1.5% in the fourth and half a percent at the end of the contract.
The Minister responsible for labour negotiations, Mark Furey, says government stands by its offer but wants to keep discussions open.
“This is about our fiscal position as a province and government’s ability to pay. What we do believe is that there is an opportunity to have other discussions outside the wage framework such as working conditions.”
Furey remains optimistic the conciliation talks will be productive.
The deal being offered to the NSGEU is the same package being offered to nurses and teachers.
