Classes have been underway for a few weeks at Nova Scotia schools, and one public sector union says it’s seeing issues that need to be addressed by the province.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees says the start of the new academic year is already demonstrating the urgency to address under-staffing, high workloads and other factors contributing to the crisis of violence in schools.
CUPE officials say workers are experiencing violent incidents at the Halifax Regional Centre for Education, and 22 bus routes were just dropped at the Chignecto-Central Regional Centre for Education because of under-staffing.
The Chair of the Nova Scotia School Board Council of Unions and President of CUPE Local 5050 Nelson Scott, which represents a number of school employees in the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education says it’s already hearing the impacts of these issues from its members, parents and others from across the province. Scott says it has proposals for the province on the table to review to address under-staffing, workplace safety procedures and reporting violent incidents
