raven mad
Mooseheads keep pressing on
immortals star luke evans on his new film, about a madman bent on turning edgar allan poe stories into reality page 16
After losing two home games against Rimouski Oceanic, the team vows a big comeback mooseheads coverage, pages 5, 22
halifax
Monday, April 23, 2012 News worth sharing.
metronews.ca | twitter.com/metrohalifax | facebook.com/metrohalifax
Health talks continue as strike looms Media blackout. Salaries the main issue in bargaining between hospital workers, Capital Health ALEX BOUTILIER
alex.boutilier@metronews.ca
It’s not easy
being green
Katimavik volunteer Charles Rondeau helps plant trees near the Macdonald Bridge as part of an Earth Day event on Sunday. Dozens of volunteers spent part of the day planting 200 trees along the Barrington Street Multi-use Trail. ryan taplin/metro
Negotiations between Capital Health and the union representing 3,600 hospital employees continued over the weekend. But don’t expect any updates. Bruce Outhouse, the government-appointed mediator, has asked for a media blackout while bargaining is ongoing. “The mediator has requested a media blackout, so there are no further details that we can provide,” said Peter Graham, a spokesman for Capital Health. Deedee Slye, communications officer for the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, also refused to provide an update on the talks, which resumed Saturday morning and continued on
Sunday at the Holiday Inn in Dartmouth. When reached via email on Sunday, Outhouse said media blackouts are standard practice during mediation. “The reason for imposing the media blackout is to foster candid negotiations between the parties,” he wrote. Labour Minister Marilyn More appointed Outhouse on Friday to bring both sides back to the table. The provincial government faced criticism from the opposition parties for failing to intervene in the dispute, but both More and Premier Darrell Dexter repeatedly stressed their desire for the two sides to work out a deal. Wages are the main sticking point, with the union demanding a 5.1 per cent raise in the first year of their contract — similar to a recent arbitrated settlement for nurses. Capital Health is offering one per cent raises each year for three years. If the situation is not resolved by Wednesday at 12:01 p.m., the workers — including nurses, technicians and social workers — could be on the picket line.