NAPE reaches tentative agreements in public sector negotiations

The Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE), have reached tentative agreements with the provincial government and respective employers.

The tentative agreements apply to the following NAPE bargaining units: Air Services, CNA Faculty, CNA Support Staff, General Service, Group Homes, Health Professionals, Hospital Support Staff, Laboratory X-ray, Marine Services, MOS, NLC, School Boards, Student Assistants, Ushers, and WorkplaceNL.

“I am very pleased to tell our members and the people of the province that our teams have reached tentative agreements,” NAPE President Jerry Earle said in a news release Monday.

“Our teams will be recommending acceptance to the membership,” he added.

NAPE bargaining teams will be taking the tentative agreements to the members for ratification votes in the New Year. NAPE is currently in the process of setting up these meetings.

Full details of the agreements will be released at the ratification meetings where members will have an opportunity to vote on the tentative agreements via secret ballot.

All sides met on a regular basis throughout September and October to try and reach an agreement. Those talks proved to be fruitful and a tentative agreement that all sides could live with was achieved, something all parties were unable to do in the previous year of talks.

These meetings led to a framework for an agreement in mid-November. Since then, NAPE and government officials have been working to finalize language and details.

“Since day one, we have been clear that we were willing to come to the table to bargain fairly, respectfully, and collaboratively. We were also clear that the benefits and rights that we’ve fought for decades to attain were not simply up for the taking. It was a tough balance, but one that we were able to achieve,” Earle said

“I believe that our members will be in agreement with their bargaining teams when they have an opportunity to see the total package of the agreement,” he added.

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