Tentative deal for 3,000 home-care workers, but hundreds still in talks

Thousands of home-care workers across the province have a tentative deal in place, but hundreds more are still in a wait-and-see mode while bargaining continues.

The last deal for employees with 20 home care agencies who are represented by the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employeesexpired in July 2018.

The Group of 20, as NAPE calls them, had been referred to conciliation earlier this year, according to a media release issued by the association Thursday afternoon.

"This was a difficult set of negotiations, and we are pleased to reach this stage." said NAPE president Jerry Earle in a statement.

"At times, it was unclear if this would be achievable, but in the end, we reached the best deal possible for our members."

Details of the tentative agreement are not available, said NAPE, because they have not yet been presented to union members. Ratification meetings are expected to happen in January.

Hundreds of employees still waiting for deal

Another 1,500 employees, mainly youth-care workers, are still in negotiations, according to NAPE.

There is no timeline when a tentative deal might be reached. Their contract also expired in July 2018.

All of the employees work at private agencies, or businesses, but many receive funding from the provincial government.

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