About 5000 school support staff across the province could soon go on strike.
Eight local unions voted 94 per cent in favour of taking job action after a vote last week, according to a news release from CUPE.
They say these workers are “resolute in their demands.”
“The treatment of school support staff is indicative of the state of public education in Nova Scotia,” wrote Nan McFadgen, President of CUPE Nova Scotia, in a news release.
“Even working full-time, the province is not paying these workers enough to live. On top of that they are overworked, understaffed, and as we know, at risk for workplace violence every single day.”
The union did not say when a strike might begin.
Wages are one of the main issues. CUPE says the province is pushing for a percentage-based increase instead of a flat-rate increase, which means the people who are already paid more would get the largest pay increases and people who earn the least would have the lowest wage increases.
Much like the recent teachers strike, recruitment, retention, workload and violence in the workplace are also major issues.
The union says support staff deal with the majority of violent incidents. Addressing other issues, like staffing shortages and workload would also help reduce violence, the union wrote.
“For us workers, for parents, and for kids, I hope our employer will meet us at the table in good faith and negotiate a fair deal,” wrote Nelson Scott, Chair of the Nova Scotia School Board Council of Unions, in the release.
“If they don’t, they know our proposals have 5,000 fed up workers behind them.”
