Strike by Annapolis Valley school support workers ends following vote for new contract
School support workers with the Annapolis Valley Regional Centre for Education (AVRCE) will return to work on Wednesday after voting to accept a new tentative agreement Tuesday.
More than 600 workers, who are part of Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU) Local 73, had been on strike since Oct. 24 demanding wage parity with workers in other parts of the province.
A release from the union late Sunday evening said an agreement had been reached after two days of talks and members would vote on the offer on Tuesday.
A news release from the NSGEU on Tuesday said the vote was 92.3 per cent in favour of accepting the agreement. The release said support workers will be "levelled up to the highest rate of pay" for their positions in the province during the life of the agreement from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2024.
Union president Sandra Mullen described the agreement on wage parity as "long-overdue" and an "important breakthrough."
"The current government not only allowed the bargaining process to unfold as it should — without legislative interference tipping the scales — but they have agreed to the principle of parity and fairness for these workers," Mullen said in the release.
Meanwhile, school support workers on the South Shore, who are represented by NSGEU Local 70, are still on strike but the release states their bargaining committee had also reached a new tentative agreement on Tuesday. Members will voted on the new proposal Wednesday.
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