Local 70 – South Shore Local 73 – Annapolis Valley Local 74 Tri-County Regional Centres for Education: Education Compensation Alignment

The second mediation/arbitration established to conclude the compensation alignment for TCRCE, SSRCE and AVRCE took place on July 28, 2023 with arbitrator Karen Hollett.

The parties did not reach agreement through mediation phase on the classification comparators reviewed that day. So later in the day, the Union and the Employer presented their evidence to Arbitrator Hollett who will render a decision soon. Additionally, the parties have identified a third dispute regarding a classification comparator. As such, a third mediation/arbitration session has been scheduled for September 18th where we will address any identified outstanding disputes.

In the meantime, representatives from the Union, AVRCE, SSRCE, TCRCE, Department of Education, and the Nova Scotia Education Common Service Bureau continue to share information on the total compensation factors for each remaining classification that is subject to the process. Should the parties identify further disputes through our analysis of the remaining classifications, we have scheduled a fourth mediation/arbitration session for October 6th where those matters will be resolved.

This means most of the work on the Compensation Alignment process is complete and classifications representing the majority of employees have now either been agreed to by the Union and Employers or are awaiting rulings by Arbitrator Hollett.

It is important to note, the Union and Employers have agreed that the application of the new rates, where determined to date, do not need to wait until the completion of the full process. This means that any completed classifications should receive the pay adjustment and retroactivity without waiting for the final results for the remaining few classifications. NSGEU is in discussions with Government and is currently waiting on confirmation from the Employer on an application date for the new rates and retro for these classifications. Once those details are confirmed, NSGEU will provide you with details on the rate analysis and the classifications that will be included in the first pay-out. Although this initial pay-out will not include any of the remaining classifications that are currently involved in the mediation/arbitration process or which have not yet been reviewed and agreed to, we believe that a significant portion of the membership will receive the new rates and retro during this first pay-out.

Pursuant to the Memorandum of Agreement, the aligned rates are measured from a total compensation perspective, which factors in vacation entitlement and pension, in addition to the base rate for each classification.

Thank you once again for your patience while we work towards achieving total compensation alignment across the public education sector. We intend to provide a further update shortly.