The Houston government is not negotiating a new deal for striking school support staff.
At a press conference today, Houston said that he feels the striking workers should accept the tentative deal that was offered to them weeks ago, and that he’s disappointed by their decision to strike.
CUPE Local 5047 is the only group representing school support staff in the province who rejected the tentative deal. They believe that they should earn a higher wage to deal with the rising cost of living in the HRM, which is the highest in the province. Under the tentative deal, they would not receive any cost-of-living pay increase.
“Now we have a situation here in this area where one local wants to undo the work that’s been done on wage parity. And that’s not appropriate,” said Houston.
Throughout the strike, hundreds of students with special needs have not been allowed to go to school. These students rely on the work of support staff to navigate their days in class. This morning, opposition leader Zach Churchill filed a human rights complaint against the Houston government for discriminating against those children based on their disabilities.
“The students that are the most vulnerable, and have the highest level of needs, are being discriminated against right now. They’re the only students that aren’t able to go to school, where they need to be because of the support that they need to be successful,” said Churchill.
Minister of Education and Early childhood Development, Becky Druhan, would not clarify whether she thought students were being discriminated against. She echoed the premier in saying that it’s up to the striking workers to get themselves back to work. She feels that CUPE 5047 is not entitled to a higher wage despite living in a more expensive part of the province.
“We have been very committed to wage parity… everyone across the province should be entitled to comparable wages for doing the same job,” said Druhan.
The government has begun hiring replacement workers in the meantime. Druhan said that the province reached out to CUPE to find solutions to get students back in the classroom, which the province says is its biggest priority. CUPE declined to cooperate and is asking the province to return to the bargaining table to find a resolution.
“Despite CUPE’s refusal to be involved in finding the solution for these families and students. HRCE is doing everything that they can to find a solution. That means working with families, and also looking for workers who can support students who need individualized care to be in class with their peers,” said Druhan.
Nova Scotia NDP leader Claudia Chender slammed the province’s decision to bring in replacement workers. She doesn’t think there’s anyway to guarantee that the replacement’s would have the qualifications to fill the positions of the striking workers.
It has been reported that the government has hired a firm with ties to the PC party to conduct the recruitment to fill these positions. The government will not disclose how much the firm is being paid.
“This government loves to operate in secrecy, and this is the latest example. We also know they like to deal with their friends. So now they’re secretly dealing with their friends. That is not surprising to me,” said Chender.
Chender disagreed with Houston and Druhan’s comments that workers should accept the tentative deal that was in place. She feels it’s the government’s responsibility to offer the union a fair deal.
“What the government needs to do is focus on getting those workers a better deal, getting them into the classroom, and not spend money with their Tory friends to hire replacement workers,” said Chender.
Hundreds of striking workers gathered at Halifax’s Grand Parade Square this morning to demand action from the government.
It has been more than a week since the strike began.
