Everett Godfrey, President of CUPE 1251.

FREDERICTON: Hundreds of CUPE members from across the province gathered in front of the Legislative Assembly this morning to support Provincial Correctional Officers, Human Service Councillors and Custodians.

CUPE Local 1251 members have been without a collective agreement for almost 3 years.

“We demand a fair collective agreement for our members”, said Everett Godfrey, President of CUPE 1251.

“So far, negotiations with the government have been difficult. The major stumbling block is wage parity. We have a retention issue, our correction officers in New Brunswick are the lowest paid in Canada and our goal is to bring our wages in-line with our counterpart in the Atlantic province,” added Godfrey.

“Another important issue at the table is the right of casuals; we want to protect the right that the casual employees currently have under our collective agreement. All casuals are to be treated the same.”

“Today, we are calling upon the government to negotiate in good faith. Correctional officers put their lives on the line every day to protect society from convicted criminals and work in dangerous environment. Violent incidents happen on regular bases in prisons and correctional officers want some respect from our employer,” concluded Godfrey.

Delegates at the CUPE convention will vote later this week on an emergency resolution calling upon all CUPE New Brunswick to support CUPE 1251 in its efforts to defend free collective bargaining and resist concession on casual rights.