The president of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU) says they will help the teachers union in anyway they can as they prepare for a strike vote this Tuesday.
Jason MacLean, says that vote might not necessarily mean a walk on the picket line for either union but says he has been hearing from members lately calling for a general strike.
“I’m hearing more and more members start yelling for general strikes so this is what I’m hearing that people around the province that people are fed up and the only way to make other people understand is for everybody to walk out.”
A general strike is when multiple workplaces and agencies choose to walk out together in solidarity.
MacLean says if that call becomes stronger, he will listen to members.
Unions representing education employees have recently been speaking out against what they say is a lack of consultation from government.
The province decided to move forward with all of the recommendations from the recent independent review of the education system, starting with 11 of 22 recommendations.
That decision was made days after the report was made public.
Some recommendations involve structural or administrative issues including dissolving elected English-speaking school boards across the province and removing principals from NSTU.
MacLean says he feels the premier is not listening to education employees, saying it is similar to how the province dealt with health care workers in the past.
“The problem is he wants to dictate his agenda to people instead of working with the professionals that are there to get things done and get it done the right way.”
The Nova Scotia Teachers Union (NSTU) might take job action besides picketing or walking out.
However, they are under contract for the next two years, which would mean a strike would be illegal and could result in fines for the union and its members.
MacLean says the fact that NSTU is holding this vote proves that the province isn’t listening.
The unions have also been meeting with each other and the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour over their concerns.
Hundreds of education employees under NSGEU, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, and the Service Employees International Union, have been working under expired contracts for years.
Representatives from those unions have all expressed worry with negotiations with school boards without elected members in the future.
For now though, MacLean says he is keeping dialogue open and has been in talks with Mark Furey, Minister of Labour Relations, regarding some of the union’s issues including those related to the changes in the education system.
Maclean says he felt the meetings went well and hopes that MLAs will speak to the premier about the concerns the unions have raised.
