Nova Scotia’s 9,300 public school teachers have endorsed a tentative agreement reached between the Nova Scotia Teachers Union and the provincial government on October 23.
“Our members have voted overwhelmingly in favour of this agreement,” says NSTU president Paul Wozney. “The diligent work of the bargaining team and this vote result indicate it’s a fair and reasonable contract for public school teachers in the province.”
In a province-wide electronic vote held today, 73 per cent of teachers voted 94.2 per cent in favour of the tentative deal. The contract will give teachers a salary increase of 7 per cent over four years, with a 1.5 per cent increase effective August 1, 2019, a 0.5 per cent increase on July 31, 2020, a 1.5 per cent increase on August 1, 2020, a 0.5 per cent increase on July 31, 2021, a 1.5 per cent increase on August 1, 2021, and 1.5 per cent increase on August 1, 2022. The contract will expire on July 31, 2023.
The agreement also includes an increase to the amount of time teachers are given for marking and preparation. Effective August 1, 2021, teachers will have a minimum of 12.5 per cent of instructional time for marking and preparation averaged over the school year. “This represents a 25 per cent an increase in prep time for our members,” says Wozney. “Teachers haven’t seen any increase in marking and prep time for 50 years and this will help to decrease the ongoing demands on teachers’ time.”
The previous teachers’ contract which was imposed through Bill 75 on February 21, 2017 expired on July 31, 2019.
The Nova Scotia Teachers Union represents 9,300 public school teachers, education-based specialists and teachers who work for the Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Since 1895, it has worked to improve the quality of public education for children and youth in Nova Scotia, while promoting and advancing the teaching profession.