The provincial government and Nova Scotia Teachers Union look to be headed for a fight.
As part of Dr. Avis Glaze’s recommendations, Education Minister Zach Churchill announced the province will remove principals and vice principals from the teachers union.
“This is the second independent report that’s come forward and suggested that principals or supervisors need to be removed from the union to eliminate any potential conflicts.”
Churchill says any other organization has professional distinctions between supervisors and staff and he believes the same should apply to the education system.
He says it will also allow principals and vice principals the independence to be the instructional leaders in the schools that students require.
Meanwhile,
The President of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union, Liette Doucet says after a tumultuous year where government legislated a contract on teachers, the relationship between the two sides is more strained than ever.
“I was looking forward to re-establishing some trust between teachers and the government because right now teachers have none. And you know, that’s not going to happen.”
Doucet has said repeatedly that principals and vice principals belong in the union.
She was concerned when listening to the Education Minister discuss how the union could be compensated for the loss of their members.
“It sounds like a bribe to me. In order to have us agree to, allow them just to leave. Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”
Churchill says government can legislate the administrators out of the union but would prefer to negotiate with the union on how that will take place.
Doucet is concerned at the speed government is moving.
She says she and NSTU executives will be reviewing the documents from government with their legal council.
After that, she expects to meet with union members before deciding how they will proceed.
Liette Doucet responds to Zach Churchill https://t.co/AZXfdfMAns via @YouTube #nspoli
— NS Teachers Union (@NSTeachersUnion) January 24, 2018
