How will parents cope if 5,500+ Nova Scotia school support workers are forced into a provincewide strike?

HALIFAX, NS — More than 5,500 school support workers across Nova Scotia could be on strike in just 10 days, as negotiations between eight CUPE locals and the province’s Regional Centres for Education and Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial (CSAP) near an impasse.

“We are running out of time to reach agreements that protect the quality of public education in Nova Scotia,” said Nelson Scott, Chair of the Nova Scotia School Board Council of Unions (NSSBCU). “For 10 months, we have been telling our employers what it takes to keep our schools running. They know the problems. They know what needs to change. But we’re still waiting for them to take those concerns seriously at the bargaining table.”

If these workers are forced to strike, the consequences will be felt in school communities across the province. Many schools could be forced to close. Schools that remain open could face cancelled bus routes, suspended pre-primary programs, reduced student supports, deteriorating cleanliness and mounting maintenance problems.

“Parents and kids across Nova Scotia see every day what happens when there are not enough resources to meet standards: classrooms get dirty, students go without the supports they need, the learning environment is disrupted, and some kids don’t even make it to class because their bus run has been cancelled.”

Scott says that school support workers do not want to disrupt students’ education or families’ lives. “Nobody wants a strike. But we cannot keep accepting working conditions that undermine the very services our students depend on. The problems we are trying to solve at the bargaining table are already affecting families across Nova Scotia.”

“Every student deserves a good school, and every school support worker deserves good working conditions,” said Scott. “Those two things go hand in hand. We are asking families to stand with us and tell their school administrators that good schools for all must be the priority. There are still 10 days to avoid a potential strike. Our employers need to use them.”

The Nova Scotia School Board Council of Unions represents eight CUPE locals whose members provide support services in public schools throughout Nova Scotia. Together, these workers provide student support, transportation, early childhood education, custodial and maintenance services, administration and other services that keep schools operating.

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Contacts

Mary-Dan Johnston

CUPE Communications

902-412-5780