Tentative contract agreement offers teachers wage increases, more prep time

Nova Scotia's public school teachers are being asked to vote on a tentative contract agreement that includes wage increases over three years and more prep time.

According to a summary of the agreement that was shared Wednesday with teachers and obtained by CBC News, the contract would be effective from Aug. 1, 2023, to July 31, 2026.

Year one of the deal would see a three per cent wage increase as of Aug. 1, 2023, and a 0.5 per cent increase on July 31, 2024. The first increase would be retroactive for all teachers under contract at the start of the deal.

Year two would see a three per cent wage increase on Aug. 1, 2024, while the final year would have a wage increase of two per cent on Aug. 1, 2025.

There would also be a 2.5 per cent increase to all levels of the pay grid prior to the first-year salary adjustment.

Rates for substitutes would increase to 75 per cent of the entry level rate for full-time teachers, effective Aug. 1, 2023. Substitutes would be paid retroactively to Sept. 1 of the school year during which the agreement is ratified.

A substitute teacher who works more than 10 consecutive teaching days in the place of the same regular teacher would be classified as a regular teacher for salary purposes retroactively for all days employed in that school year. The previous deal required 18 consecutive days before that happened.

More prep time 

The proposed deal would increase preparation time for teachers.

Fifteen per cent of instructional time would be provided for marking and prep activities averaged over the school semester or term. That would be an increase from the current 12 per cent, which is averaged over the school year.

Blocks of time for marking and prep would be scheduled for no less than 30 minutes, an increase from the previous deal's 15-minute minimum. Teachers would be able to bank missed prep time if they have to fill in for a colleague when a substitute cannot be found and eventually schedule a half day for prep work using that banked time.

Professional development funds would be increased for all regional centres for education as part of the contract offer, with the increase varying by region. The new deal would require that any requests to attend conferences outside of Canada only be approved if there are no alternatives within the country that provide comparable professional development within a similar time frame.

Retention and recruitment 

In a nod to efforts to boost the teaching ranks, the contract would require the employer to establish a committee to investigate teacher retention and recruitment.

The group would include union representation and would be required to make recommendations to the employer and union within a year of the contract being signed.

The contract includes language saying the employer and union agree that mental health "is an important consideration when ensuring the overall wellbeing, safety and learning of students" and that having appropriate resources to provide mental health services "is vital for students and the prevention of school violence."

It commits each school site to having a school counsellor assigned to that school on a full-time basis by July 31, 2026. In the case of schools with fewer than 150 students, the school counsellor may be assigned other teaching duties.

The employer would also agree not to increase the length of the instructional day and to maintain current classroom caps for the duration of the agreement.

The union is scheduling information sessions on the tentative deal later this month, followed by a ratification vote on May 22.

The tentative agreement was announced last week, following negotiations that dated back to June 2023. Last month, union members voted resoundingly in favour of strike action in the lead up to the final round of talks.