Nova Scotia Teachers Reject Tentative Agreement

HALIFAX, NS --(Marketwired - December 01, 2015) - Nova Scotia's 9,000 public school teachers have voted to reject a tentative agreement reached between the Nova Scotia Teachers Union and the provincial government on November 12. In a province-wide electronic vote held today, 94 per cent of NSTU public school members voted 61 per cent against the tentative deal.

"The decision to accept or reject this agreement was in our members' hands, and they have spoken," says NSTU president Shelley Morse. "It's clear that given the result of the vote, and the many concerns we've heard leading up to the vote today that teachers are feeling undervalued and overwhelmed within the current education system."

The proposed contract would have given teachers a salary increase of three per cent over four years and eliminated the service award on a go-forward basis.

"We are still very concerned that Government will legislate changes to articles in our agreement, that govern student supervision, certification, self-directed autonomous professional development, school day and school year, and composition of the NSTU membership. These changes will increase the already overloaded demands placed on teachers."

Going forward Morse reiterates, "Significant demands on teachers' time continues to be an issue for our members. Government needs to take a serious look at teachers' working conditions, and make improvements to help teachers best meet the needs of their students."

As far as moving forward on the bargaining front, Morse says, "We will still be governed under the former agreement, and will meet with our provincial executive to explore our options under the Teachers' Collective Bargaining Act."

"While the process used to reach the negotiated tentative agreement was different, it was of the opinion of the provincial executive that this agreement was in the best interests of teachers under the current circumstances, and therefore recommended that teachers vote in favour of the agreement."

The current teachers' contract expired on July 31, 2015.

The Nova Scotia Teachers Union represents more than 10,000 public school teachers, Community College faculty and professional support staff in Nova Scotia, and teachers who work for the Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Since 1895, it has worked to improve the quality of public education for children and youth in Nova Scotia, while promoting and advancing the teaching profession.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

More info:
Angela Murray
NSTU Public Relations Coordinator
Direct: 902-479-4708
Cell: 902-497-0194
amurray@staff.nstu.ca
twitter @NSTeachersUnion