Potential school support worker strike in N.S. puts families in limbo

Some families in Nova Scotia are scrambling ahead of a possible school support worker strike next week, and an advocacy group says some students are being unfairly affected.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) says more than 5,000 workers may go on strike beginning Monday, Oct. 26. Those workers include education program assistants (EPAs), lead early childhood educators, bus drivers, janitors and cafeteria workers.

For Kirkley Westhaver, a strike would mean having to decide whether she tags along with her eight-year-old daughter to school or has her daughter stay home.

“I’m really not sure at this juncture what I want to do because I want to support the EPAs, I want the support the people who make her life possible but I also don’t want her to miss out and that’s what I think a lot of parents are facing right now,” she said.

Westhaver’s youngest child has autism, as well as a global developmental delay, which means she relies on an EPA to help her though the day at her Halifax school.

“She’s a safety risk, she’s often unaware of the hazards that are around her. You know, general things like, would walk right in front of a car and not understand that that’s dangerous, would walk straight into a lake and has tried to do so before,” she said.

“She’s one of those kids who just kind of needs 24/7 supervision.”

In the event of a strike, Westhaver says she’s been told her daughter cannot attend class unless Westhaver goes with her.

“If our children can’t meaningfully access education and meaningfully access programs . . . that we are paying for, then no children should be able to access it,” she said.

In a statement, the Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) says it is making plans to ensure that students who require the support of EPAs will continue to be able to access educational services “reasonably and safely.”

“The ability to attend school will depend, in part, on the individual supports a student requires and how those supports may be affected by job action. We recognize the uncertainty this creates for families, and we are working to understand and plan for these impacts as fully as possible,” the statement read.

Brian Foster, the executive director of Inclusion Nova Scotia, says he’s heard from other parents in similar situations.

Foster says he believes the lack of planning by the province is unfair.

“They are putting parents between them and the labour negotiations because they won’t make the hard decisions about the contingency plans (that do) not disproportionately (affect) people with disabilities,” he said.

A Department of Education spokesperson says the provincial government has not received 48 hours’ strike notice from CUPE but noted that discussions will continue Friday.

When asked about the possible strike, Premier Tim Houston said Thursday that he believes in the collective bargaining process and “our track record on collective bargaining is very good.”

“The message (to parents) is we don’t want any labour disruption. We’re working through this process. We’ll put a fair process on the table, but the union will ultimately decide,” Houston said.

“But we’re hopeful and we don’t want any disruption.”

But Foster says it’s cruel to leave families facing uncertainty going into the weekend.

“We’re sending them into a weekend where they do not know what is going on and what will happen on Monday, and they have been left to scramble to try and figure out what they’re going to do about their own jobs,” he said.

The province has said that in the case of a strike, impacts will vary by region, with some classes continuing as normal while other students are shifted to online learning.

Bus service will be suspended in some areas and some pre-primary and before- and after-school programs will be cancelled.

The union says the province’s last wage proposal for most job classifications was an increase of $1.62 per hour by the end of a four-year agreement.

— with a file from The Canadian Press