HALIFAX — About 1,800 striking educational support workers in the Halifax area have voted in favour of a deal with the province and are heading back to their jobs on Monday.
The early childhood educators, educational programming assistants, bus drivers, cleaners, Indigenous and African Nova Scotian student support workers, and other support staff went on strike May 10 after rejecting a wage increase of 6.5 per cent over three years — a deal which members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees local accepted in areas outside Halifax.
The Halifax Regional Centre for Education announced today the striking workers had voted in favour of the tentative agreement on Saturday.
The employer noted that the return of the educational program assistants meant that children they work with, including those with disabilities, will also be able to return to school on Monday.
The union says the new deal doesn't include wage increases higher than what other regions accepted, but there are improvements to retroactive pay and improved provisions on health and safety. Casual workers are also now part of the bargaining unit.
The province's Progressive Conservative government had repeatedly stated that it couldn't break with the pattern of wage increases from one region to another.
The Halifax members of the union had a high public profile during the strike, at one point staging a walk of over 1,000 of its members across the MacDonald Bridge between Halifax and Dartmouth.
The Canadian Press
