Antigonish – Conciliation talks broke down last night between St.F.X. and NSGEU Local 88, support staff, after twelve hours at the table.
This is a different discussion then the talks going on between the St. FX AUT which had been striking. and the university.
“Although we did make some progress yesterday, we weren’t able to make any headway on the two issues most important to the membership, wages and the classification process,” says Joan Jessome, President of the Nova Scotia Government & General Employees Union.
The classification issue was central to the members of Local 88 when they first unionized in December of 2009.
“The employer has not been willing to attach the pay scales to the classifications, nor steps to the classifications. This is a significant issue for us,” says Jessome.
The members of Local 88 will be voting on the employer’s final offer on February 20.
If the offer is rejected, the conciliator will file his report with the Department of Labour and Advanced Education triggering a 14-day countdown to a legal strike date. This would be 12:01 am on March 8.
There are approximately 135 members of the local who provide administrative, clerical, technical, and library services for St. F.X.
