CUPE, N.B. premier say little after wrapping up first meeting in almost two weeks

FREDERICTON -

After meeting for almost eight hours on Thursday, CUPE NB leadership and New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs wrapped up their first meeting in almost two weeks.

The two sides agreed to a media blackout and CUPE NB president Stephen Drost was tight-lipped after exiting the meeting in Fredericton.

"We’re going to continue having discussions," Drost said.

When asked if he felt confident that negotiations had moved forward a little bit, Drost was non-committal.

"We will see. I can't make any comments," Drost said. "We go back and we report to centralized bargaining team which is already part of the process."

A short time later a member of the government's communication staff emerged to say the two sides had agreed to a media blackout and the premier would not be making any comment.

Higgs said Thursday morning that he was hoping to make some progress during the meeting.

"We'll see how long it takes, but do I expect that we walk away with a resolution today? Probably not, I mean that would probably be unrealistic, but I do expect that we’ll have very good discussion on all of the issues," Higgs said before the meeting.

The meeting was held in a government building in downtown Fredericton and lasted well into the evening.

Some of the 22,000 striking Canadian Union of Public Employee workers who were outside the building earlier on Thursday said they hope it means Higgs is listening.

"I'd just like to see fairness and honesty come out of this meeting," said school bus driver Joe Dunn. "I hope it's done soon, because the kids back to school and we need to get back to work."

The strike entered its seventh day on Thursday and has closed schools, affected hospitals, and interrupted the pandemic response. The union went on strike to back its demands for higher wages and says members haven't had a decent wage increase in years. The union is seeking a 12 per cent increase in wages over four years. The government's last offer was eight-and-a-half per cent over five years, along with pension changes for two locals.

Higgs said if the meeting renewed negotiations, he hopes workers in health care would return to the job.

"Well, I think it's fair to say as every day passes with the strike in the health system during a pandemic, something has to give," Higgs said. "We can’t let the health system continue to be impacted."

To date, 7,991 appointments and 188 surgeries have had to be cancelled or postponed by Horizon Health because of the strike.

With files from The Canadian Press.