Legislation ending teachers’ contract dispute passed
With shouts of “Shame” cascading from the public gallery, Nova Scotia’s Liberal government passed a contentious bill Tuesday ending a 16-month contract dispute with the province’s 9,300 public school teachers.
The Liberals used their majority to ram through Bill 75, which also ended a work-to-rule job action that began Dec. 5. The vote was 33 to 17. “Teaching is not easy,” Education Minister Karen Casey told the house as she moved passage of the final reading of the legislation late Tuesday afternoon following a lengthy session that began at 12:01 a.m.
“Challenges in the classroom are very real,” said Casey. “It is our responsibility as government to work with our teachers to ensure that our students remain a priority for both.”
Introduced last Tuesday, Bill 75 became law after a series of around-the-clock sittings, usually accompanied by the sounds of teachers and their supporters banging drums, blowing whistles and chanting outside Province House.
Speaking with reporters Tuesday, Premier Stephen McNeil said the law was needed to return classrooms to normal by ending the teachers’ work-torule job action.
“We were hoping to get an agreement at the bargaining table, as I’ve said so many times,” said McNeil.
“There is no question it (workto-rule) has had an impact on students ... we had to move so this contract would be in place and work-to-rule would end.”
Teachers held a one-day strike Friday in protest of legislation they say doesn’t provide the help they need in the classroom.
It was the first time in the union’s 122-year history that members had walked off the job.
The new law imposes a fouryear contract that contains a three per cent salary increase and incorporates many elements included in the first two tentative agreements rejected by union members. A third tentative agreement was also rejected earlier this month.
Nova Scotia Teachers’ Union president Liette Doucet said she was proud of how her membership had stood up for its rights and advocated for better classrooms.
“They believe through this action that they have had their voices heard and their voices have been heard right across the province,” Doucet said. “They hope that the citizens of this province realize that we have a broken system and that something needs to be done and pressure needs to remain on the government to make those changes.”
McNeil said after the vote that the government will now focus on a promised committee for classroom improvement, which will get $20 million over two years and make recommendations to improve working conditions.
The bill was passed with a minor amendment that will bring in an arbitrator to settle disputes between members of the committee, comprised of four government representatives, one union co-chair and nine classroom teachers selected by school board superintendents.
Under the last deal rejected by union members, the provision would have allowed the arbitrator to rule on issues worth up to $250,000 a year. Liberal house leader Michel Samson said the government was doubling the amount to $500,000, and that any member of the 14-member council would now be allowed to trigger the arbitration process.