Teachers hold first rally after strike vote

More than 10,000 NSTU members voted 98% in favour of action last Friday

About 300 people surrounded the Armdale roundabout in Halifax on Monday, starting at 4 p.m. They came to support the Nova Scotia Teachers Union against school violence and belowaverage salary issues.

At this busy intersection connecting Joseph Howe Drive and Chebucto, Quinpool, Herring Cove and St. Margarets Bay roads, the honking of passing vehicles boosted the enthusiasm of the rally participants. They shouted slogans like “Our kids cannot wait” and “Give the power back to the teacher.”

This is the NSTU’S first rally since voting 98 per cent in favor of a strike mandate last week. They held one rally last Wednesday, before the vote, in Lower Sackville, and will hold another one next Wednesday.

Nova Scotia Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Becky Druhan stated that she’s “disappointed in the vote result” but not “surprised” by it. She said, “this vote is only a distraction that has caused confusion and anxiety for students and their families.”

NSTU President Ryan Lutes expressed that teachers are feeling frustrated due to the deteriorating conditions within schools and the government’s failure to take action to ensure safe and healthy learning environments for students.

“(Teachers) want to see a plan to end the teacher shortage that focuses on retention and ensures that our substitutes aren’t among the lowest paid in Canada,” Lutes said.

NSTU has negotiated with the government since last August.

“They (NSTU and the government are) actually in conciliation at this point” Liette Doucet, president of the Halifax City Local of NSTU said. “One of the reasons why we wanted to do this rally today is to bring that forward and make sure people know what’s happening.”

NSTU representatives were at the table with the province Monday and will be again Tuesday, trying to negotiate a new collective agreement.

The rally also attracted students and parents.

Danielle Robicheau, the mother of a 12-year-old girl, attended the rally. Her daughter stopped going to class due to in-school bullying, and the administration had no response to Robicheau’s complaint, leaving her fuming.

“We’re here for the teachers,” Robicheau said. “The teachers need their power back. They have no say in what goes on in those classrooms at all.

TIM KROCHAK ■ THE CHRONICLE HERALD Teachers from the Nova Scotia Teachers Union hold a picket rally during the afternoon commute, on the Armdale Rotary in Halifax Monday. The NTSU members recently voted 98 per cent of a strike mandate.