The union representing school support staff who work for Edmonton Public Schools and the Sturgeon Public School Division says staff in both divisions plan to serve strike notice on Thursday and could begin job action as soon as Monday.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees made the announcement in a news release issued Thursday morning.
“Some support staff have gone 10 years without a cost-of-living wage,” said Mandy Lamoureux, the president of CUPE 3550, which represents 3,000 educational support staff at the EPSB. “Many of our members work two to three jobs to earn a living wage.”
Last month, CUPE 3550 members voted to reject a wage increase offer from the dispute inquiry board that the union said amounted to 2.75 per cent over four years.
Lamoureux said the average educational support worker in Alberta earns $34,500 a year.
In October, the Alberta government directed the EPSB and CUPE 3550 to work with a dispute inquiry board as their labour conflict continues and a protest took place outside the Alberta legislature to decry the move.
As a result of the directive, workers were not be able to strike for at least 30 days.
“People are quitting, no one will take the jobs at these wages, and students and education are suffering,” Lamoureux said
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Kelly Salisbury, the president of CUPE 4625, said it was a “hard decision to vote to strike.”
“But doing nothing will make a bad situation for students even worse in the long run,” Salisbury added. “We need to take action now to protect education in Alberta.”
“We are trying to give parents as much notice as possible,” Lamoureux said. “We know we’re putting them in a tough position, but we feel we have waited long enough and we have to act for the long term benefit of the students we love so much.”
Global News has reached out to the EPSB and Sturgeon Public School Division for a response to CUPE’s announcement.
On Tuesday, support workers at Fort McMurray’s public and Catholic schools went on strike. They had already been taking part in rotating strikes since November.
The Catholic and public school divisions in Fort McMurray said their early childhood development programs are on hold and that both recognize the right to strike.
In a statement issued about the Fort McMurray strike on Tuesday, Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said the increases being offered are appropriate for this round of bargaining.
“It seems unreasonable that the union is demanding more,” he said, adding these workers exceed the Western Canadian average.
“We remain hopeful that the union will put students and families first by coming back to the bargaining table and working toward a deal that is fair and reasonable.”
–with files from The Canadian Press
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