N.S. public-sector workers to see payouts in $470M deal stemming from Bill 148 challenge - CBC

N.S. public-sector workers to see payouts in deal from Bill 148 challenge

Tens of thousands of Nova Scotia public-sector workers will be entitled to lump-sum payments as part of a new agreement stemming from a court challenge that earlier this year saw a judge strike down contract legislation passed by the previous Liberal government.

The deal between various unions and the province was made public Monday, and could cost the Nova Scotia government up to $470 million at a time when it faces fiscal headwinds and significant deficits.

Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Ann Smith, who is expected to soon sign the final approval, ruled in February that Bill 148, a piece of legislation passed by the government of Stephen McNeil in 2015 and proclaimed two years later, was unconstitutional. 

The legislation, which a number of unions challenged in court, imposed wage restraint on public-sector workers, including teachers, nurses and civil servants. It legislated a four-year wage pattern that included a freeze over the first two years, and targeted public-service awards.

Under the agreement, employees affected by Bill 148 will receive $1,250 if they worked the first year of wage restraint, $1,250 the second year, $750 the third year and $500 for the fourth year. There will also be $1,250 payments to those affected by the changes to service awards.

“It’s a win for workers,” said Melissa Marsman, the president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour. “It should have never happened in the first place, it was wrong, and this is a real win for workers.”

Kevin Kindred, senior counsel with the Department of Justice, said it’s estimated 81,000 people are entitled to at least some payment. A finance official said roughly 55,000 will get payments linked to the service awards.

Kindred said payout amounts are not an attempt to quantify lost wages, which would be “massively speculative.” Instead, the payments are for the damage caused by the infringement of the Charter right. 

The case was in Nova Scotia Supreme Court on Monday. Smith asked that some small changes be made to the wording of the order before she signed off on it, including setting a deadline for payments. It's not clear when payouts will begin.

Finance Minister John Lohr said the expected value of the payments has already been accounted for in the province’s books. It will be considered part of the 2025-26 fiscal year, as that is when the judge handed down her ruling.

“When you have a court case, it weighs on you too,” Lohr said of the decision to negotiate payments rather than continue with litigation. 

“There’s many unknowns. So for our government I can say there’s, even though this is a big fiscal lift, there’s a sense of we’re happy to have this behind us.” 

Marsman noted that Premier Tim Houston promised in the 2021 election to repeal Bill 148, but did not do so. She said the issue could have been fixed three or four years ago, a time when the province was posting surpluses.

Sandra Mullen, the president of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, said the unions wanted to avoid the province appealing February’s decision, and called the payouts a “huge win for labour.”

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Richard Cuthbertson is a journalist with CBC Nova Scotia. He can be reached at richard.cuthbertson@cbc.ca.

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