Nova Scotia teachers strike to be a last resort, says union after vote

The head of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union says they'll do everything possible to avoid a strike after receiving an overwhelming vote in favour of taking job action by teachers Tuesday. 

But the minister of education said if wages are a sticking point, teachers shouldn't expect the province to budge.

"Teachers want to be in front of their students," Liette Doucet, president of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union, said on Information Morning. "They don't want to be on a picket line."

• Nova Scotia teachers vote overwhelmingly in support of strike mandate

The vote results revealed 96 per cent of teachers were in favour of a strike, which could happen as soon as Dec. 3.

Workload, money top concerns

The dispute is around workload and money. Doucet said teachers are bogged down with unnecessary paperwork, which means they don't have time to do lesson plans. 

"We're the ones on the front lines, we know what's going on in the classrooms and we're hoping those voices will be heard."

Wages are also a key point of contention.

"Teachers aren't asking for the world, they're asking for a fair salary increase. They're asking for cost of living," Doucet said. 

Last the year, the average annual teacher salary was about $76,300, according to numbers from the province. The lowest full-time salary was $46,119, and the highest teacher salary was $92,286.

Karen Casey, the minister of education, said the province is being fair. They're offering teachers a raise of three per cent over four years, the standard offer for all public servants. 

"Our government is still committed to treating all public servants the same to live within our means," said Casey. 

Clear demands

Casey said there are mixed messages over what needs to change. She points to class sizes and the curriculum as examples of issues they've been working on. 

"We believe we had listened to what the teachers union had told us," Casey said. "We believed they were speaking for their teachers; if that's wrong, we need to hear what are the actual concerns."

Casey said they're also waiting to hear when the union is willing to take part in conversations on working conditions. The province has offered meetings outside the collective process. 

Doucet said the union will take the next few days to come up with a plan, which could include asking for mediation. They'll also determine what job action they would take if it reaches that point, with work to rule and rotating strikes a possibility.

• Listen: Teachers 'are willing' to strike, says union president