Halifax Public Libraries reopen Thursday after workers accept new offer

Halifax Public Libraries reopened Thursday after workers accepted a new collective agreement, ending a nearly month-long strike.

The Nova Scotia Union of Public and Private Employees Local 14 issued a statement Sunday saying the majority of its members voted to accept the agreement.

The strike, which started Aug. 26, impacted about 340 library workers across the Halifax region. Staff were fighting to improve wages they said were far behind other libraries in Canada.

Union President Christina Covert said, although a majority – 59 per cent – accepted the new offer, a significant number of members still voted against it – 41 per cent – and more work needs to be done to improve pay and working conditions for library staff.

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Chad Murphy, vice-president of the union, shared details of the agreement during an interview on CTV Morning Live Thursday.

He said the agreement included many wins for workers, including getting lowest-paid staff onto the pay scale.

"Which is something we've been trying for for quite a few years," said Murphy.

"As far as finances go, we arrived at 3.5 per cent for the first year of the contract, and then for the three subsequent years, it would be 50 cents an hour, plus three per cent."

The new agreement also extends absence-without-leave to five days, allows workers to choose immediate family for the purpose of bereavement leave, and addresses workplace safety.

The new agreement is in place until the end of 2027.

Workers with Halifax Public Libraries on strike in Dartmouth, N.S., on Aug. 26, 2024. (Carl Pomeroy/CTV Atlantic)

Meanwhile, Murphy said the community support has been overwhelming.

“Community members are dropping off snacks, cards saying that they missed us, and it’s overwhelming to see that support continue,” he said.

There were smiles on the faces of children who were happy to return to their favourite libraries Thursday.

“We’re really excited that the library is open now … it’s really important to me because I like to read and learn a lot of things,” said one girl.

“I’m just happy the strike is over,” said one boy. “I just want the library to be open for a good time.”

As for staff members, Murphy said they are feeling mixed emotions as they return to work.

"Generally, the staff are really motivated to get back to work. However, being off for three weeks did present significant hardships for some people," said Murphy. "So, the emotions are ranging from happiness, to sadness, to anxiety. Everyone's experiencing this very differently.

"Obviously it's difficult to go without a pay cheque for three weeks, especially in today's society where cost of living is increasing, inflation is still pretty high and grocery prices aren't dropping. Luckily, we only missed one pay cheque and were able to come to a resolution fairly quickly. So, we're looking at just getting back into the swing of things here."

Murphy said planning and scheduling were part of the reasons for the four-day delay in reopening.

"There were several necessary components in order to get us back to work. So, first the supervisors had to come back to work; they're in charge of scheduling and they were meeting with management to figure out how this would happen," he explained.

"Tuesday, most of the departmental and programming staff went back. So, those discussions would have involved when public programming would resume. And finally, yesterday the majority of front-line staff returned to work and that just looked like catching up returns, making sure the branch is ready to go for today – the big day."

While the Halifax Public Libraries have reopened, library programs won’t resume until Oct. 1.

With files from The Canadian Press

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page.