Nearly 10,000 teachers, counsellors and school specialists across Nova Scotia will be asked to vote today on whether to strike amid a bargaining breakdown with the province. The Nova Scotia Teachers Union has been negotiating a new collective agreement with the province since the old agreement expired last August. The process has prompted a conciliator’s involvement after six months of talks without reaching a new deal.
By
Lauren Phillips, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Coast
Nearly 10,000 teachers, counsellors and school specialists across Nova Scotia will be asked to vote today on whether to strike amid a bargaining breakdown with the province. The Nova Scotia Teachers Union has been negotiating a new collective agreement with the province since the old agreement expired last August. The process has prompted a conciliator’s involvement after six months of talks without reaching a new deal.
Yesterday afternoon, the NSTU held a rally in Sackville, organized by teachers in Halifax County. The union says a recent survey of its members found nearly 85% of teachers have considered leaving the job—prompted, in part, by higher workloads, higher burnout rates, a lack of resources for students, rising levels of violence in schools and a lack of support from their employer.
Speaking with The Coast, NSTU president Ryan Lutes says a “wake-up call” is needed in the provincial government.
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“You need to come to the table ready to have meaningful discussions about these issues,” he says. “A meaningful discussion is not just, ‘No, we can’t do that.’ Teachers are struggling, and kids deserve better.”
In a statement to The Coast, Nova Scotia’s minister of education, Becky Druhan, writes that any talk of a potential strike “is concerning for students and families,” adding that both sides “continue to actively bargain.”
If a majority of the NSTU’s members vote “yes” to a strike, it won’t lead to a walk-out right away—the union’s executive would first lay out a strike mandate that’s likely to require a cooling-off period before a strike could begin. There are also conciliation dates set for Apr. 15 and 16, during which time, both the province and the union’s bargaining teams will meet with a provincial mediator to work toward a tentative agreement.
Today’s vote will take place electronically at 8pm. Results are expected to be made public by 9pm.
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