Support for Striking Unions

School support workers are caring professionals. Like nurses, these educational assistants, early childhood educators, student support and outreach workers, parent navigators, library personnel, Indigenous advisors, child and youth practitioners, literacy support workers and student supervisors understand what it means to put others first at work.

While these support workers are the glue that holds our schools together, their low wage and differing salaries across the province understandably led to difficulties in recruitment and retention.

With Regional Centres of Education and the government refusing to address these issues, school support workers were forced to strike in an attempt to secure a better future for themselves and for the children of Nova Scotia.

NSNU President Janet Hazelton visited school support workers on the picket line in Annapolis Royal on October 28th to show support for fair wages. Additionally, the NSNU has made financial contributions to both NSGEU’s and CUPE’s strike funds, which are put in place to ensure these unionized workers are compensated when they are forced to strike for the wages and respect they deserve.

Fortunately, striking school support workers were able to reach an agreement that achieves what members were asking for: wage parity with workers doing the same job elsewhere in the province.

The NSNU stands with school support workers and thanks them for their hard work.