School Support Staff Could Strike April 21st

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CUPE’s Nova Scotia School Board Council of Unions (NSSBCU) and the central bargaining committee representing Nova Scotia’s Regional Centres for Education and the CSAP will be in a legal strike/lock-out position as of 12:01 am, April 21^st, 2023. The parties received the final reports from conciliation officers today.

“Our 5400+ members across the province need a deal that lifts them out of poverty,” said NSSBCU chair Chris Melanson. “Our members are frustrated because the employers are not taking our reasonable position seriously. Employers are ignoring the growing staffing crisis in our sector, and kids are suffering because of it.”

CUPE represents Nova Scotia school support workers in a long list of classifications, including bus drivers, cleaners, maintenance and tradespeople, ECEs, Educational Program Assistants and Teaching Assistants, and food services staff to name a few.

“The employers have lots of time to come back to the table and negotiate a fair deal that helps all of our members, not just a select few,” said Melanson. “School support staff don’t want to withdraw our services, but if the employers aren’t willing to negotiate, we’ll have no other choice, because we can’t survive on these wages any longer.”

“School support staff in Nova Scotia are critical supports in our communities, and they need to be paid a living wage,” said CUPE Nova Scotia President Nan McFadgen. “CUPE workers across the province are also parents, and we’ll be standing with school support staff to make sure they get a fair deal.”