More than 5,000 school support staff are still at risk of walking off the job, as negotiations with the province are headed toward an impasse.
In October, 94 per cent of CUPE members voted in favour of strike action in eight local unions across the province.
In a news release, the union says talks with the Department of Education have stalled after nearly a year, due to a snap November election and now a new mandate from the province that prevents discussions on wages.
Nelson Scott, Nova Scotia School Board Council of Unions (NSSBC) Chair and CUPE 5050 President says, everyone is hearing the same thing from employers.
“They say they have a mandate for wages and can’t deviate from it. There is no discussion, there is no negotiation. All we want to do is fairly negotiation our collective agreement.”
Demanding talks to resume
CUPE is urging the province to respect the bargaining process by coming back to the table and talk in one central location – instead of in eight different locals.
The union also encourages new Minister of Education Brendan Maguire to “empower employers” and actually negotiate.
President Nan McFadgen says at this point with the way things are, employers are “handcuffed”.
“We can’t negotiate wages at a central table, and we can’t negotiate wages at the local tables. Basically, we have thousands of members on the verge of job action and the government will not even fairly negotiate terms.”
Other key issues
In addition to wages, other key sticking points are understaffing, health and safety protocols as well as violence in public schools.
CUPE says school support staff experience the majority of violent incidents in Nova Scotia schools leading to high levels of stress that also negatively affects their physical and mental health.
The contract with the province expired at the end of March 2024.
Meanwhile, on behalf of Labour Relations, the province sent an emailed statement to our newsroom.
“Government is committed to the collective bargaining process as demonstrated through our actions directly at the bargaining table which has resulted over 300 settlements since 2021.”
