For any school support staff who have not yet read our report, we urge every member to take a look at Safe Staff, Safe Schools: A worker-led review of violence in Nova Scotia’s public schools.
Violence in public school is at crisis level. The 2022-2023 school year saw 27,000 violent incidents in public schools across Nova Scotia. And we know that with barriers to reporting, a lack of support from management, and overworked staff, that number is likely even higher. If the last year saw similar numbers, increasing at a similar rate as the last few years, we can estimate well over 30,000 incidents in the 2023-24 year also.
Why did we write this report?
In 2022, we tried to sound the alarm to Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development Becky Druhan and Tim Houston’s PC government about the crisis of violence in our schools. We shared our concerns about the issue and offered detailed strategies to address it in our proposals. The employer was only willing to implement some of these strategies—meaning workers continue to deal with violence in the workplace.
We contacted the provincial government about this again in December 2023. We received no response. While they ignored us, the crisis of violence in public schools continues to get worse, and underfunding and understaffing has increased.
Now the Auditor General has produced a report echoing what we have been saying: violence in schools is increasing because students do not have the staff support that they need in the classroom.
Since the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (EECD) wasn’t using the information we tried to share, we thought that Nova Scotians had a right to know what we were sending our kids into, just as this school year was about to start.
Public service workers are the public
Now that we’re bargaining, it’s essential that parents, families, and the school communities we serve understand that school support staff want to address understaffing, poor compensation in the sector, and the problems with reporting violent incidents because we want a safe workplace AND a safe learning environment for our kids. We are part of our school communities, and since we deal with violent incidents the most, we have a lot of information and insights to offer.
Our contribution to dialogue and decision-making on this topic should match up with our daily contribution to our schools.
We know that the issues that make our working lives more stressful, less healthy, and more challenging overall, are deeply connected to the issue of violence in public schools. We know how to improve our workplaces, both for staff and for students.
Our campaign is already working
The EECD recently invited CUPE, NSGEU, NSUPE, and SEIU to a meeting on this topic. It was a short meeting, and an incredibly overdue first step. But together, we moved our employer from completely ignoring our concerns, to an attempt at consultation. It’s not enough, but it’s enough to know the pressure we are putting on the EECD is making a difference.
What members can do to support bargaining and this campaign
Getting our employer to listen to our concerns takes more than just the bargaining committee. It takes all of us. Here are some actions you can take immediately:
READ THE REPORT
You know how bad this issue is in your school but read the report to see how fellow members are being impacted in other parts of the province, and to see the included recommendations.
SIGN THE PETITION
Go to cupe.ca/safe-schools to read more and sign the petition. Join hundreds across Nova Scotia who support workers in schools!
SHARE WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
Whether it’s a Facebook post, or a chat over the dinner table, please talk to your network about our campaign. This is a public issue, and we need public support.
Download images you can use on Facebook/Meta, Twitter/X and Instagram here.
COME TO YOUR LOCAL’S BARGAINING INFO SESSION AND PREPARE FOR A STRIKE VOTE
This week and next week, each local is holding information sessions. Contact your local executive to find out when yours is! Strike votes are taking place from October 1-9. A schedule will be released with times and locations for each local. It is crucial that all members participate in the vote to have their voices heard.
GET INVOLVED
Whether it’s taking the steps above, or reaching out to your local executive to find out how you can get more involved, any action helps.
Remember: This is your workplace, this is your contract, and this is your union.
Nelson Scott (Local 5050), Andrew Weaver (Local 964), Kevin Carther (Local 3876), Ciarán Llachlan Leavitt (Local 955), Jenny-Lynn Wardrope (Local 3890), Robert Amero (Local 2272), Jennifer Cox (Local 4682), and Shelley McNeil (Local 5047)
Nova Scotia School Board Council of Unions
Download a PDF version of this update here.