N.S. government, teachers' union reach 'agreement in principle'

The Nova Scotia government and the union that represents 10,000 teachers in the province have reached an "agreement in principle" on a new collective agreement.

The deal, announced Thursday by Premier Tim Houston, comes a week after teachers voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike mandate.

Houston said there is still some "final drafting to be done" on a tentative agreement, but he expected the Nova Scotia Teachers Union would share details with its members in the coming days.

The union has cited violence in schools, salaries, teacher retention and a lack of substitute teachers as some of the primary issues.

Houston said he attended a bargaining session on Monday night. He emphasized that the government "heard the voices of teachers" and shared their focus on students and classroom conditions.

"I think teachers will see significant investment in these areas in the agreement," he told reporters.

No details of the deal have been released.

The union and government have been in negotiations since June. The union filed for conciliation in February, and the two sides met with the conciliator this week.

Union president Ryan Lutes said in an interview that the agreement includes improvements related to workload, classroom conditions and compensation, although he declined to offer details until it's presented to teachers.

"Is it, in an instant, going to fix every issue in schools? Absolutely not. But we think that there's significant gains," he said.

In an email to union members, he said its provincial executive will review the final wording of the deal next week before they can vote on ratifying it. A date for the vote has yet to be set.

He credited last week's strike mandate, where 98 per cent of membership voted in favour, and the intervention of Houston, who spoke with the union bargaining team earlier this week, with pushing the talks ahead.

"His direct involvement was absolutely helpful to get his side, his bargaining team moving in a more constructive way," Lutes said.

He acknowledged the strike mandate created anxiety among students and parents, but said union members were "forced" to take the step because negotiations had stalled.

Education Minister Becky Druhan said teacher retention is a challenge, but she hoped that the tentative deal, if adopted by teachers, will lead to improvements.

"We share the urgency around making improvements in our school system, in our classrooms to support teachers and to support our students," she said.

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill noted no details of the agreement have been released, including how much it will cost. He said the premier has always sought to avoid controversy, and the union's strike mandate vote was strategic.

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said she hopes the agreement addresses teacher concerns, and the strike mandate showed how upset they are, gaining the premier's attention.