This time next week, the labour landscape in Nova Scotias health-care sector will be very different, but its anyones guess as to how it will look.

Mediator-arbitrator Jim Dorsey has until next Monday to deliver his final decision about the makeup of four new bargaining units as prescribed by Bill 1, and last week Health and Wellness Minister Leo Glavine said his understanding is the report will come on the 19th.

Copies will be delivered to the government and four health-care unions at the same time and it wont be long after that before the public gets a glimpse.

Glavine said Friday the government has made no contingency plans for the possibility that Dorsey does something they dont like, largely because it is the governments view that Bill 1 is pretty clear about what is supposed to happen.

We felt our legislation is strong, is directive toward this mediation-arbitration process, and so were prepared to wait until the 19th and then react based upon (Dorseys) decision, said Glavine.

When asked if the government sees itself bound by Dorseys ruling, Glavine said his recommendation will be our path forward.

It will also be difficult for the unions to protest too much, regardless of what Dorsey does. He was, after all, their No. 1 choice for the job when asked by the government for suggestions. And there are indications, based on a previous Dorsey report, that he isnt going to simply rubber-stamp the governments wishes.

Bill 1 is the legislation that merges nine district health authorities into one provincial board; it also calls for the number of bargaining units to be reduced to four health care, nursing, clerical and service and for each of the four health-care unions to represent just one of the units.

Although they were united in their opposition to the bill when it was first announced and being debated in the House, it wasnt long before friction developed between Unifor, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Nova Scotia Nurses Union and the Nova Scotia Government & General Employees Union, and they started calling for different options.

When the bill passed, Dorsey was brought in, first as a mediator and eventually as an arbitrator, to settle what union would get which group of workers and also hear arguments about which workers would be included in what groups.

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Health-care recommendation to chart provinces path