Platform
As candidate for the next President of our union, I have a great deal of experience of where we as an organization have been, a deep understanding of where we are presently and a clear vision of where the NSTU needs to be in the future.
Salary Increase
NSTU members recognize the need for substantial increases in teacher salaries. Over the past decade, inflation has outpaced any meaningful adjustments to educators' wages, jeopardizing their ability to maintain a decent standard of living.
It is imperative to acknowledge that teachers play an indispensable role in shaping the future of our society. However, despite their unwavering commitment, many teachers find themselves struggling to make ends meet due to stagnant wages.
Inflation erodes the purchasing power of salaries over time, rendering them insufficient to cover basic necessities such as housing, healthcare, and education for their own families. This disparity between the rising cost of living and stagnant wages not only undermines teachers' morale and job satisfaction but also poses a significant threat to the stability of our education system.
A livable wage is essential for attracting and retaining talented individuals in the teaching profession. Without competitive compensation packages, we risk losing skilled educators to other professions or jurisdictions where their skills are valued and adequately rewarded. This exodus of talent would have detrimental effects on the quality of education our students receive and ultimately impede the progress of our society as a whole.
Preparation Time
In order to perform at the level teachers expect of themselves, the workload must become manageable for many of our members. Teachers in elementary, middle school, and high school as well as specialists have an unrealistic workload without time to properly prepare for the myriad of responsibilities that they face each day. Members are overwhelmed. Such things as teaching too many classes, too many students in light of soft caps on class size, meeting the diverse needs of each learner without the proper support, administrative duties concerning data input and updating records.
For two years immediately following the lockdown due to the pandemic, the week after the December break, the government has granted teachers a week to use as self directed professional development. That week was a valuable time which teachers used to develop teaching practices and develop assignments for online learning as well as to deal with the backlog of reports, update TIENET, student documents, and many of the other administrative requirements that overwhelm members.
As President I will work to not only increase the 12.5% scheduled prep time but also include this week of self directed professional learning and planning. With the right leadership, this can be achieved in the collective bargaining process.
Collective Bargaining
We are well into the collective bargaining process and it appears the government is stalling. While our negotiation team works tirelessly trying to bargain for a fair deal, it unfortunately is not enough.
Negotiations are greatly influenced by external factors, as evidenced by the previous administration under Premier McNeil. They attempted to manipulate public sentiment to influence the direction of negotiations, particularly by leveraging the Teachers' Pension Plan as a bargaining chip. Despite the fact that the TPP is not a subject for collective bargaining, but rather an entity with shared responsibility between the government and NSTU, it was unfairly utilized to tarnish the reputation of teachers.
Now we are at a point where the Provincial Executive has asked for a strike vote. This is a powerful tool that we as members can give our negotiation team.
We are the NSTU. We need to capitalize on the powerful resource that is the NSTU membership to set the stage, before and during negotiations. We do this by giving a stronger voice to the members and organizing them to be involved in each of the three major political parties of Nova Scotia. The NSTU is a nonpartisan organization but that does not mean we should not exercise our democratic rights and responsibilities as citizens and engage in the political process across the province. We have a wide and varied membership, a membership that is intelligent, talented, and has much to offer. With the proper professional learning opportunities, our members can and should be motivated to bring change in the political realm. We have that power. As president of the NSTU I would ensure that ALL regions across the province are positioned to bring about positive change for educators of Nova Scotia.
Together, we can become engaged in the political process and understand the pulse of politics in Nova Scotia. A reactive approach, dealing with political situations as they occur, does nothing to harness our power. A proactive approach to public awareness and public relations would help deflect misinformation and disinformation used against us to sway public opinion. This improved public perception, our success, our wellness, is about us, all of us, together. Let me use my voice to strengthen yours. Together, we can strengthen our profession.
Pension
The Nova Scotia government is a full partner in the Teachers’ Pension Plan and is responsible for 50% of the unfunded liabilities. As President, I will encourage the government to take steps that would benefit all: Hire more teachers in order to change the ratio to have more members paying in than taking out. Although the benefits to the education system would be incredibly positive in terms of workload issues, prep time, class sizes and specialized programs, I understand that this may not be eagerly embraced by the government. However, this notion may not be as far-fetched as one would think. The government is an equal partner and is responsible for half of the unfunded liability for the pension plan.
Collaboration between the NSTU and the government will allow us to reach outcomes that not only ensure a healthy pension plan but will also ensure a healthy economy and benefit all Nova Scotians. With my voice, and yours, I will bridge any gaps between the NSTU and government to achieve smart solutions for all.
Substitute Teachers
Our most vulnerable members need protection to ensure that we have a pool of capable, qualified substitutes who are well compensated for their services, and those amongst them who are honing their craft to pursue full time teaching jobs in the future.
The government now recognizes that the system needs more substitute teachers. Unfortunately, years of mistreatment, low pay, and lack of benefits mean that many qualified substitutes have left the profession to secure other employment opportunities where they are valued around which they can build their lives.
Alongside other pension solutions, adding more members paying into the plan is an opportunity to strengthen the pension plan. An increase in hires would increase the likelihood of retention of substitutes as jobs become more readily available. One way to achieve this increase is by giving term substitutes full-time status as substitute teachers for a set family of schools.
In order to maintain a healthy TPP we need to have teachers to replace those that retire and today's substitute teachers are tomorrow’s teachers, and tomorrow’s contributors to the pension plan.
As President, I will advocate for changes which will attract, retain, and effectively move substitute teachers into a permanent place in the education system. Fairness and equity must be applied to our substitute teachers. They are valued and should be respected. For example, substitutes who are booked for a day and school is canceled should be paid for that day. The number of consecutive days needed before accessing full rate of pay needs to be reduced from the current 18. Substitute teaching in Nova Scotia needs to be an attractive, desired occupation, and a job that pays living wages above the poverty line.
During job action I used my strong voice with clear messages to effectively amplify NSTU concerns to our members, the public, and government. I spoke out at law amendments, on traditional media outlets on television, radio, and print, as well as on social media platforms.
As President of the NSTU, I will stand up for you, and your voice … our voice … will be heard.
On May 15th, vote for
A Strong Voice,
A Proven Voice,
Your Voice.
Vote Peter Day for NSTU President.
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