Finance Minister Tom Osborne wouldn’t say much about the details of the tentative agreement between the provincial government and NAPE when speaking to reporters today.

Osborne says the agreement is a two-year extension to their original agreement, which includes some salary increases. He believes it’s a fair and balanced agreement by both sides.

The Finance Minister stuck to his guns saying he would not negotiate in public. He says there are modest increases in salaries, but there are also savings which grow significantly over time and help reduce government’s long-term liabilities.

Government’s employees that are unionized through NAPE should hear of the details through the union and the ratification process.

Osborne claims the reason for the extension is due to the lengthy two-year negotiations with NAPE that only saw an agreement ratified last year—and many of the local issues are still relevant.

He says they’ve achieved some post-retirement changes that grow over time, especially as new employees come on.

According to Osborne, those changes largely offset the salary increase.

He also states it’s very fair towards the tax-payers of the province and the public sector unions, recognizing what he calls the valuable contribution they make.