The Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project (NSRAP) stands in solidarity with the Nova Scotia Teachers Union as the Nova Scotia Government forces a contract on teachers by legislation it will introduce Monday evening.
We commend teachers for standing up for the classroom conditions of their students. Improvements in working conditions for teachers will allow them vital time to consider more carefully how to bring 2SLGBTQIA+ content into classrooms, better support and contribute to GSAs, and provide safer instructional environments for all young people.
Solidarity demands action. Contact your MLAs, Education Minister Karen Casey, and Premier Stephen McNeil to let them know you support teachers and that legislating a contract is counter productive and harmful to students’ learning conditions. To find your MLA’s contact information, head to http://nslegislature.ca/index.php/people/member-bios
The government’s heavy handed approach to labour negotiations will ensure that disruption continues in our schools, classroom sizes continue to grow, and working conditions of teachers — the learning conditions of our students — continue to deteriorate. The government must return to the bargaining table to negotiate a fair and open deal with the NSTU.
2SLGBTQIA+ young people deserve better. All Nova Scotians deserve better.