A union representing transportation and tourism workers is pushing the province to make an offer based on dollar rather than percentage increases — an approach it has not seen since the 1990s.

That's because CUPE Local 1190 represents lower-wage earners in the public service, according to the union's president Jonathan Guimond, with median wages between $20.67 and $33.33 an hour.

A percentage increase for all members would mean the lowest-wage earners see the smallest increases. The union contends that approach would not bring all members up to speed with the cost of living. 

The province has proposed a 12.5 per cent increase over four years, which Guimond says would amount to an average wage increase of $3. The union is asking for a flat $7 increase for all members. 

However, the last time it received an offer from the province with a flat-dollar increase was during the 1990s, the union said, with the most recent contract using a "hybrid" approach. 

"We need real, flat-rate dollar increases," Guimond said. 

"We have members who regularly attend the food bank, worry about whether they're going to pack a lunch today or put gas in their car to go to work."

Province 'open to' negotiations 

CUPE Local 1190 represents government employees in a diverse number of jobs, including machinists, labourers, school bus and equipment mechanics, welders, heavy-equipment operators, park employees, laundry drivers, bridge workers and provincial ferry operators.

The union held a press conference this week to call on the province to return to the table before the provincial election, set for Oct. 21.

Government spokesperson Bruce Macfarlane said in an email the province "remains open to" resuming negotiations. 

"Government, like the vast majority of public sector employers, offers percentage increases to all of its 55,343 employees, given that all employees experience the same increases in the cost of living," Macfarlane said.

He said the government's offer included "a flat dollar component," but did not answer follow-up questions about the amount. 

Parties deadlocked since July

Macfarlane noted the province has also offered retention bonuses based on time served — one per cent for 15 years of service, two per cent for 20 years, and three per cent for 25 years. 

But because many workers in the union are seasonal, Guimond said, it will take nearly double the time for them to achieve those thresholds. 

The parties have been negotiating for 21 months and have been in a deadlock since July. More than 80 per cent of union members have voted in favour of a strike. 

Guimond says union leaders would consider strike action after receiving information from the Labour Board on which employees would be designated as essential.

He noted the Labour Board has not provided a time estimate for that information. 

  J.P. Lewis, a political scientist at the University of New Brunswick, says it's in the premier's best interest to resolve the dispute ahead of the election. (CBC)

However, with a provincial election call imminent, University of New Brunswick political scientist J.P. Lewis says it's in Premier Blaine Higgs's best interest to resolve the dispute before the campaign period.

"The key thing here for Higgs's brand is, since he came in as leader of the Tories and even before that when he was finance minister, he really preached the issue of, you know, just getting things done," Lewis said. 

"These sorts of unresolved issues heading into a campaign aren't great for an incumbent government of six years."

The province has reached tentative agreements with six unions in the public service since June, including those representing nurses, social workers, pharmacists and agricultural staff.

While Guimond congratulated those unions, he believes representing lower wage earners makes it more difficult for unions like CUPE 1190 to accept a contract.

He said more than one third of the union's membership make less than the Human Development Council's average living wage in New Brunswick for 2023. 

The council's report put the hourly living wage at $24.50 in Fredericton, $23.35 in Saint John and $22.75 in Moncton.