Fair Wages for School Support Workers - QP
CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Mr. Speaker, those educational support workers from the Valley and the South Shore were marching outside the Legislature today as they continue their fight to be paid the same wage as someone doing the same job in Halifax.
Earlier this week, in response to our question about this, the minister said, "Our government fully supports wage parity and fully supports equivalent compensation across the province, equal pay for equal work. An EA who works in Digby should be making the same amount as an EA who works in Antigonish or an EA who works in Glace Bay." The minister ducked our question about the Halifax wages.
I'll give the Premier the opportunity to set the record straight. Does the Premier believe that educational support workers from the South Shore and the Valley should be paid the same amount as those doing the job in Halifax - yes or no?
THE PREMIER « » : I'll just reiterate the comments of the minister. We believe in wage parity, and we believe in the collective bargaining process. We don't think it's any benefit to anyone to try to negotiate on the floor of this Legislature during Question Period. Those negotiations would happen at the table. We respect that. We will value that process and we'll be there to support that process.
We believe in wage parity. We understand that is one of the proposals as part of a suite of negotiations that will happen. We'll allow the process to go. We support collective bargaining. There's only one way that can be done, and that's at the table. That's what we'd like to see happen.
CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : The minister and the Premier subverted collective bargaining to give CCAs a wage increase, to do lots of other things. The Premier is the employer.
I visited three picket lines this week, and the people marching were, with very few exceptions, women. Women make up the vast majority of the caring economy - the folks we rely on to make sure children are educated, sick people are cared for, and that elderly folks have their needs looked after. In this sector, they make 71 cents of every dollar that a man makes.
One woman I spoke to in New Minas said she couldn't recommend this job, which she loved so much, since it's impossible to survive on her wages. She said that when she started, this was a second income for her family. Her work as an educational program assistant caring for students doesn't make her enough to pay the bills.
My question is: Will the Premier acknowledge the value of this work and help close the gender pay gap by ensuring that workers in rural Nova Scotia make the same amount of money as . . .
THE PREMIER « » : I would certainly echo the member's comments that the value of the work that's being provided is extremely valuable, and the impact that is made on families and students, is completely immeasurable. It's valued by this government. You are valued by this government, for sure. But I can't even imagine what the members opposite would be saying if we were trying to intervene in the collective bargaining process.
The reality is that these things are best worked out at the table. That's what we would like to see happen. We hope everyone can get back to the table. That's what's in the interest of all Nova Scotians. We hope that everyone can get back to the table and get that done. Maybe the members opposite will encourage that exact thing to happen in the interests of Nova Scotians.
CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : The CUPE members on the line need no encouragement to get to the table. They need a fair offer that gives them parity with people in Halifax. These workers want to be in school, but by not coming to a fair agreement at the bargaining table as an employer - and let's be very clear, this government is the employer - the government is forcing these women to stay away from schools, and from the students who need them.
The government is depriving many of the most vulnerable children in our province of an education, and in many cases, forcing parents to stay home without pay. Across the Annapolis Valley, children are being sent home, told not to come to school, and often not supported at all.
Doesn't the Premier think it would be better to come to the table with an offer that pays these workers in rural Nova Scotia the same amount that their counterparts in Halifax are making now, rather than . . .
THE PREMIER « » : I guess what I'd say is there's obviously a number of inaccuracies in the member's characterization of the situation. I am not at the table, so I wouldn't dare speak to what the discussions would be. But I encourage the parties who are actively involved in this, including the employer, to get to the table and work out what's in the best interest of all Nova Scotians.
I think we've shown as a government that we will invest in Nova Scotians. We will do that at every single opportunity we have, but we also have to invest in the collective bargaining process. We will continue to do just that.