Nova Scotia college support staff ratify collective agreement

97 per cent vote in favour of contract that includes wage increase of 7.5 per cent over 3 years

Professional support staff of the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) have voted in favour of the tenative agreement reached between the college and the Nova Scotia Teachers Union (NSTU) on May 24.

Staff voted 97 per cent in favour of the agreement (87 per cent of eligible workers cast ballots) that runs from Sept. 1, 2011, to Aug. 31, 2014.

The agreement covers 156 professionals, including registrars, librarians, counsellors, student support workers and training co-ordinators at campuses across the province.

Highlights of the agreement include the same salary increase as the recent settlement for public school teachers and community college faculty — a salary increase of 7.5 per cent (7.7 compounded) over three years,with a two per cent increase effective Sept. 1, 2011, a 2.5 per cent increase on Sept. 1, 2012, and three per cent increase on Sept. 1, 2013.

It also contains an increase in dental for major restoration services. Professional support staff have now been allotted an additional professional learning day and are now eligible to engage in the Learning College Portfolio program, in which they can advance their learning to meet professional and organizational goals and receive additional compensation, the union said.

The NSTU represents more than 10,000 public school teachers, Community College faculty and professional support staff in Nova Scotia, and teachers who work for the Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

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