Overview
- CUPE Local 2745 says a ratification vote on a tentative contract will proceed by March 27 after the province agreed not to implement planned cuts to some library workers and administrative assistants for the rest of this school year.
- Roughly 5,000 education and clerical support workers are covered, and the tentative agreement is reported by the union to include a $5‑per‑hour raise phased in over four years.
- The New Brunswick Labour Board previously found the government bargained in bad faith and ordered layoffs reversed, but a Court of King’s Bench judge later dismissed the union’s contempt application tied to the dispute.
- The Department of Finance says its Feb. 27 arrangement allowing the vote is specific to the current school year, leaving questions about next year’s staffing and the future of the library‑worker classification.
- In Newfoundland and Labrador, Premier Tony Wakeham has signed a Bay du Nord agreement with Equinor and held ~90‑minute briefings for opposition parties, but the deal has not been released publicly and critics say key issues—especially firm commitments for in‑province topsides and drydock work—remain unanswered; the minister says officials addressed all questions and the premier notes Equinor has issued expressions of interest for topsides work in NL if feasible and on schedule.