Striking school workers rally outside N.S. legislature as negotiations set to resume

Striking employees rally at N.S. legislature About 350 striking education employees from across the province are holding a rally at the Nova Scotia legislature.

About 350 striking workers from the South Shore and Annapolis Valley regional centres for education held a rally outside the Nova Scotia legislature Thursday.

The education support staff are fighting for wage parity with colleagues working in other regions of the province. Currently, these workers are being paid differently based on which education centre they work for.

The roughly 700 striking workers are represented by the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union.

Employees on the picket line include educational assistants, early childhood educators, student support workers, outreach workers, parent navigators, library personnel, child and youth practitioners, Indigenous student advisors, literacy support workers and student supervisors.

“We have been at the table since Nov. 2021, that’s a year ago,” NSGEU President Sandra Mullen tells CTV Atlantic. “We have been working back-and-forth, trying to convince them of this need to have parity.”

The rally follows a week-and-a-half of strike action. Both sides are set to return to the bargaining table Friday.

The update comes after NSGEU members at the Annapolis Valley Regional Centre for Education (AVRCE) voted down a last-minute contract offer from employers in mid-October.

A few days later, they were joined by colleagues from the South Shore Regional Centre for Education (SSRCE), after 92 per cent of members voted to reject a second contract offer from employers.

While the union bargaining committee had recommended the deal to workers, 68 per cent of members voted to reject the contract offer.

In the meantime, it’s not just staff who are locked out --- the students who need support workers the most are too. Roughly 250 students who need extra support in school have been told to stay home.

On Thursday, the executive directors of Autism Nova Scotia and Inclusion Nova Scotia published an open letter denouncing the fact that students requiring learning support are “being excluded from school” during the current strike.

“There are no exceptions to the right to equal treatment in education,” said Cynthia Carroll and Patricia Neves in the letter. “Any action taken by an elected official that suppresses those rights is unacceptable.”

The letter continues by pointing out that “requiring students with learning support needs to stay home during a strike differentiates them from their peers, significantly disadvantages them, and is discriminatory.”

“Ensuring learning is equitable rests with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development and Regional Centres for Education,” the letter reads. “The lack of appropriate contingency planning is not a burden to be placed on our province’s children. Denying access to education is discriminatory.”

The co-authors of the letter acknowledge that educational assistants are a learning accommodation.

“Removing that accommodation is no different than insisting a child with a physical disability remain home because of a limited access to mobility devices,” they said.

Autism Nova Scotia and Inclusion Nova Scotia are calling on the provincial government to take immediate action to ensure the education centres have the resources they need to guarantee students who require learning supports can continue their schooling uninterrupted.