New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs says he’s exploring his options to end a strike by 22,000 CUPE members in the province after the job action impacted health care services Saturday.
A COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Fredericton was cancelled, and Higgs says the strike also meant that COVID-19 screeners were not available in some hospitals and other facilities.
Lots of folks out here on Regent Street in Fredericton from CUPE NB. @Global_NB pic.twitter.com/WODQNKab9s
— Nathalie Sturgeon (@nthlstrgn) October 30, 2021
Higgs told reporters during an afternoon news conference he could use the province’s Emergency Measures Act to force the employees back to work, but will take the next 24 hours to weigh his options.
The strike over wages began Thursday, and the premier said no formal notice was given of the job action in health care facilities Saturday.
Read more:
Schools close as thousands of New Brunswick public sector workers launch strike
But CUPE New Brunswick president Steve Drost says the premier is continually trying to lay blame on the union.
He says most of the union’s members haven’t had a proper raise in 15 years and remain among the lowest paid workers in the country.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2021.
