New Labrador Benefits Agreement Reached with Unions

All Newfoundland and Labrador public service employees in Labrador will benefit from an enhanced Labrador Benefits Agreement reached between the Provincial Government and five public sector unions. The previous agreement expired in March 2009. The new agreement is effective as of April 1, 2009 and expires on March 31, 2013.

“We are pleased that an agreement has been reached with five public sector unions on a new Labrador Benefits Agreement,” said the Honourable Tom Marshall, Minister of Finance, President of Treasury Board and Minister Responsible for the Public Service Secretariat. “Our employees in Labrador often face higher costs of living, particularly in smaller isolated communities, and this new benefits agreement will help to address recruitment and retention issues in this region of the province.”

The new agreement covers employees represented by the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE); the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE); the Newfoundland and Labrador Nurses’ Union (NLNU); the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Association (RNCA); and, the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association (NLTA).

The Labrador Benefits Agreement provides additional compensation and leave benefits to Newfoundland and Labrador Public Service employees within the Labrador region of the province. This is in recognition of the higher cost of living and additional travel times and costs encountered in Labrador.

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Media contact:
Roger Scaplen
Director of Communications
Public Service Secretariat
709-729-4839, 697-5267
rogerscaplen@gov.nl.ca 

2011 12 08                          10:50 a.m.