Striking school support staff walk picket lines in Halifax

School support staff in the Halifax area are walking picket lines Wednesday.

CUPE Local 5047 — the union that represents more than 1,800 educational assistants, early childhood educators, library staff and more — rejected a tentative agreement last weekend.

The union and Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) were in talks Tuesday but could not come to an agreement.

Schools are open but pre-primary classes are cancelled, and students who need an educational assistant are without help or have to stay home.

Angela Thornhill’s son Jack is one of the students who will still be attending class without the help of an educational assistant. She says sending him to school doesn’t sit right with her.

“He would be sequestered with whatever students are there in one classroom and not able to move about his day. So he can’t go to art or he can’t go to English,” she said.

On Tuesday afternoon, a Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) spokesperson told CTV News approximately 600 students will be provided with at-home learning opportunities because their medical, personal and safety care needs exceed what can be provided in-person while CUPE members are engaged in job action.

Chris Melanson, president of CUPE Local 5047, says the union returned to the bargaining table Tuesday hoping the government would be prepared to negotiate but there was no willingness to do so.

“It’s not an easy decision to come to. We know where the gaps in schools will be,” said Melanson in an interview with CTV News late Tuesday afternoon.

Zach Churchill, Nova Scotia's Liberal leader, says vulnerable students can’t go to school because Premier Tim Houston’s government “refused to ensure a plan was in place.”

“We believe the best place for the students to be is in the classroom. It’s time for the Houston government to get on the same page,” Churchill said in a statement.

Wages seem to be a major sticking point in negotiations.

Nova Scotia’s education minister says the province’s last offer was unanimously recommended by the union.

“We’ve heard from CUPE, we’ve heard from Nova Scotians and we believe in equity of pay so that folks across the province can expect to be paid comparable amounts for equivalent work,” she said.

Melanson says members are struggling to make ends meet. He says workers want wages to go up more than 6.5 per cent over three years, which is what the union says the government proposed.

He says the union proposed a four-year plan that had significant increases in years three and four.

Allan MacMaster, Nova Scotia’s Minister responsible for labour relations, says the province is “deeply disappointed” with the strike and the approach CUPE is taking.

He says the offer presented is fair for employees and taxpayers and in the best interests of students and parents.

“It is unfortunate that CUPE is casting blame on the government for this strike given the tentative agreement was reached through fair collective bargaining,” MacMaster said in a statement late Tuesday afternoon. “This means the agreement was accepted by the union executive and recommended to their membership for ratification.”

The minister says employers delivered on CUPE’s request for wage parity and the tentative agreement would have made it so someone doing the same job in Yarmouth, Sydney or Halifax would have been paid the same.

While seven other regions ratified the agreement, MacMaster says CUPE Halifax rejected this agreement and has now asked for changes that would undo wage parity within their own membership across the province.