After months of pleading for a better deal, the union representing striking Halifax-area school support workers has voted to accept a recent tentative agreement, which will immediately end an ongoing strike that’s brought thousands out to picket lines over the past month.
In a release from the Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) on Saturday evening, it was confirmed that members of CUPE Local 5047, the organization representing the striking workers, accepted the terms of the agreement and will be returning to schools on Monday.
“We recognize that it may not be school as usual. Our focus in the coming days will be on reconnecting with students and staff who have been absent,” the release said.
More than 1,800 workers will return to the classroom including early childhood educators, educational program assistants (EPAs), librarians, and African Nova Scotian student support workers.
The release noted that all bus routes that were previously affected by the strike will resume their regular schedules as of Monday morning and afternoon.
Despite union members voting to accept the tentative agreement, union president Chris Melanson said the news still doesn’t warrant a “day of celebration.”
“It’s a bit of a somber day,” he said in an interview with Global News on Sunday. “The agreement has some small gains in it, it’s not perfect, no one can say that.”
“Government knows this battle is not over, our members are mobilized, they are strong, they’re informed … the public has supported us and they’ve pledged that support moving forward.”
“We’re sad that government didn’t address our concerns prior to yesterday.”
On Wednesday, in a statement announcing the tentative agreement, Melanson noted that progress was “made possible by the fierce determination of school support staff in the HRM.”
“It is only because of CUPE members’ job action that there was any willingness from government to make improvements on the deal members rejected decisively in May,” he said.
Melanson was referring to an original offer from the province that was declined by workers in the Halifax area.
A previous tentative agreement was reached on Feb. 19 between the Nova Scotia government and support staff from across the province — 5,400 in total. Each local, representing support staff from different regional centres for education and the francophone school board voted independently.
Only Local 5047, representing HRCE workers, did not ratify the deal.
The union was seeking wage increases greater than what the government had proposed, which was 6.5 per cent over a three-year contract. Full details of the agreement have not yet been made available.
“We know this has been a difficult experience for families and staff across our system,” said Steve Gallagher, regional executive director for the HRCE. “Our school communities have not been the same since the job action began and we are very much looking forward to welcoming everyone back.”
The union says the new deal doesn’t include wage increases higher than what other regions accepted, but there are improvements to retroactive pay and improved provisions on health and safety. Casual workers are also now part of the bargaining unit.
“There will be additional vacation days which aligns our local with other employers and other groups. There are also some pretty good language gains around parental maternity and adoptive leave that sees members with other supports,” Melanson said.
“This agreement still doesn’t take care of all of the things that our members needed but it does position us to inform government that we’re not going away,” he said, noting that the strike has resulted in school support workers becoming more informed on the bargaining process.
Melanson said the public is now more aware of the fact that “education is much more than just teachers.”
“If government is going to base their funding and base things on an inclusion-based funding model, they can’t just talk about it. They need to follow through on it. We are the members that actually ensure there’s inclusion in the schools.”
The province’s Progressive Conservative government had repeatedly stated that it couldn’t break with the pattern of wage increases from one region to another.
The Halifax members of the union had a high public profile during the strike, at one point staging a walk of over 1,000 of its members across the MacDonald Bridge between Halifax and Dartmouth.
The last day of school for students throughout the province falls on June 30.
— with files from The Canadian Press and Global News’ Rebecca Lau
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