The province’s largest public sector union is meeting this week with government officials to discuss a critical shortage of social workers.

NAPE President Jerry Earle says the deputy minister reached out to arrange a meeting this week.

Earle says there are a number of issues leading to the shortage including compensation and workload, but he admits, not all of the solutions involve ‘quick fixes.’

The union has put together a working group made up of social workers to help raise and address issues. He says the number of seats at the province’s only school of social work needs to be increased to help fill the gap, but that’s not a quick fix.