Nova Scotia LPNs Awarded $17-Million In Retro-Pay
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia Government is on the hook for $17-million in retro-pay to LPNs, following an arbitrator’s ruling last week. The ruling applies to approximately 500 licensed practical nurses (LPNs) that worked for the former Capital District Health Authority, which is now part of the Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA).
“This has been a longstanding issue with respect to the former Capital District Health Authority collective agreement and we are pleased to have concluded the matter,” said a spokesperson for NSHA. “The implementation date is defined in the decision and will be followed without delay.”
“The amount of retroactive pay is approximately $17-million and includes the amount that will be paid to those who have retired or moved to other positions/jobs since the arbitration decision.”
Arbitrator Lorraine Lafferty awarded the affected LPNs with a 12 percent wage increase that is retroactive to March of 2014 – the date the nurses’ union, NSGEU, filed a grievance. This is considered a “consent award” meaning both the union and the government agreed to the arbitrator’s ruling.
“Our members are elated (with the ruling),” said Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU) president Jason MacLean.
According to MacLean, NSGEU first brought the issue forward of LPN’s wages back in 2012. The union claimed that LPNs serving in the CDHA were being saddled with extra duties that they weren’t being compensated for.
Some of those new duties included: running immunization clinics, medication reconciliation, transferring health information between facilities, administering medication by iv, and transfusing blood.
“They brought it to our attention around 2012, we tried to negotiate things and work on it with the employer, but the employer didn’t want anything to do with it,” said MacLean.
So, the union filed a “substantially altered duty” grievance in 2014. It took six years and two different arbitrators to get the 12 percent increase.
The NSGEU, however, is not done with the issue of LPN wages. Since the ruling affects only the nurses who worked for the former CDHA, there are still 1,500-2,000 LPNs, according to MacLean, who didn’t get the 12 percent increase.
The union plans to lobby for all LPNs to earn the same wage across the board.
“An LPN is an LPN and they all must start getting paid the same rate of pay,” said MacLean.
