Striking school support staff walk picket lines in Halifax
CTV
School support staff in the Halifax area are walking picket lines Wednesday.
School support staff in the Halifax area are walking picket lines Wednesday.
CUPE Local 5047 — the union that represents more than 1,800 educational assistants, early childhood educators, library staff and more — rejected a tentative agreement last weekend.
The union and Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) were in talks Tuesday but could not come to an agreement.
Schools are open but pre-primary classes are cancelled, and students who need an educational assistant are without help or have to stay home.
Angela Thornhill’s son Jack is one of the students who will still be attending class without the help of an educational assistant. She says sending him to school doesn’t sit right with her.
“He would be sequestered with whatever students are there in one classroom and not able to move about his day. So he can’t go to art or he can’t go to English,” she said.
On Tuesday afternoon, a Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) spokesperson told CTV News approximately 600 students will be provided with at-home learning opportunities because their medical, personal and safety care needs exceed what can be provided in-person while CUPE members are engaged in job action.
