ANTIGONISH: As the province’s schools face a work-to-rule action, Nova Scotia Teacher’s Union (NSTU) locals in the region are protesting against the provincial government.
On Sunday Premier Stephen McNeil said negotiations between the province and the NSTU ended without resolution.
“I am disappointed that the Nova Scotia Teachers Union has walked away from the negotiating table and that a collective bargaining agreement could not be reached,” stated the premier in a press release. “The most recent proposal from the province included everything in the previous agreement, and an additional $10 million to address classroom conditions, with the direction of spending to be determined by a working group of teachers, school boards, the NSTU and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.”
McNeil stated the union tabled an unrealistic proposal that would cost the province almost $500 million, which he deemed unacceptable.
“We believe in the importance of education for our students and the overall health of the province,” stated McNeil. “That is why in every budget we have made investments in the classroom. It is why we committed an additional $10 million for teachers and the union to address conditions in the classroom. I also want teachers and parents to know that regardless of what happens next, we will continue to invest in education and the classroom to create the best learning conditions possible for teachers and students.”
On Monday, the NSTU announced plans to start a “work-to-rule strike action” on Monday, December 5. The action is set to include classroom teachers, administrators, school psychologists, speech language pathologists, school board consultants, and other NSTU public school members who work for school boards and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.
“During work-to-rule, teachers will focus exclusively on teaching students in a safe learning environment, preparing and implementing lesson plans, and maintaining appropriate contact with parents/guardians of students who are at risk and/or have special needs. Nova Scotia students will continue to receive the best education we can give them,” states the release.
During the work-to-rule action, teachers plan to arrive 20 minutes before school and leave 20 minutes after and not engage in the collection of money from students, cease performing clerical duties or perform data entry tasks, and extra-curricular activities like concerts, team coaching, and clubs will also stop.
Liette Doucet, president of the NSTU, said the union decided on the work-to-rule action as a way of letting the government know what teachers are doing in the classroom.
“We want our students to be successful, we want to teach,” she said. “Many of the things that we are doing now are making it so that we are not able to do that. We are doing so many things that are taking away from actual planning for students.”
As of Monday morning, Doucet said there are no dates set for negotiations to resume.
“We are fully committed to getting back to the table,” she said. “We want to continue negotiating. We are looking for the government to come back, to meet with us to have some actual, real negotiation sessions, some real discussions and some real back and forth with counter proposals, which did not happen last week.”
Doucet said the NSTU announced the work-to-rule action now to be sure parents know what is going on and give them time to prepare for next week.
“Teachers are interested in getting back to the table,” she said. “Teachers want to find a solution to this impasse. We do not want to be away from our students. We will do everything we can to ensure education gets better and that our classrooms become places where we can focus on students and ensure their needs are met.”
As of press time, the Inverness and Richmond locals of the NSTU were set to hold a rally of support starting at the parking lot of SAERC on Tuesday (November 29).
Last Friday, the NSTU Antigonish local, joined by members of the Guysborough local, members from the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial (CSAP) at École acadienne de Pomquet, and the local retired teachers organization, took part in a rally in Antigonish. Travelling along Main Street and ending in front of Antigonish MLA Randy Delorey’s office, members carried signs and chanted while receiving honks of solidarity from passing cars.
Amanda Marchand, president of the Antigonish local, said she was overwhelmed by the support from the community.
“I am so very thankful for the support from our members, retired members, from members of the community… to show their support for our students and our students learning conditions and their teachers’ working conditions,” she said.
Delorey invited Marchand and another representative to speak with him Friday afternoon before addressing the entire rally.
“He was very receptive,” said Marchand. “He seemed to hear our concerns, from the members that are doing this job every day and has assured us he will take that message back to the premier and the minister.”
As of Friday, she said the NSTU was in conciliation with the province. She also said the Antigonish local voted 96 per cent in favour of a job action.
“It is our provincial executive that decides what that looks like,” she said. “Depending on how this process goes, we will move forward under their direction.”
Marchand said the union is in a legal strike position as of December 3 but a job action could happen as early as December 5.
During his address to the rally, Delorey stated part of the province’s position.
“We’ve made it clear, from the election, that we recognize there are needs to improve our education environment for our students ‘learning conditions,” said Delorey, noting the province invested in over 300 new teaching positions since 2013.
