EAs and support staff were supposed to begin a strike on Tuesday morning.
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The Alberta government has forced educational assistants and support staff in Fort McMurray back to work on the eve of a strike planned for Tuesday morning.
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The rest of Alberta’s labour movement says the move is a war against their rights to protest as thousands of public sector workers across the province undergo bargaining talks.
“We scared the government. That’s why they did this yesterday. If they can do it to us. It can do it to any other unions in the province,” said Danielle Danis, president of CUPE Local 2559, which represents staff in the Catholic system, at a Tuesday morning protest.
“All the members of our Locals are strapped to the nines because of overgrown class sizes and no funding.”
The strike would have impacted 1,065 educational assistants, librarians, administrative and maintenance staff, and custodians. The leaders of both CUPE locals say 98.6 per cent of 866 members that voted last week favoured striking.
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Alberta Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides has not publicly spoken on the labour dispute when asked for comment. A Sept. 12 statement from a spokesperson for Nate Horner, Alberta’s treasury board and finance minister, said any dispute is between CUPE and the school divisions.
But on Monday evening, the province appointed two dispute inquiry boards in the hopes of making the CUPE locals and school divisions reach a settlement. This delayed the strike and both parties now have at least 30 days to reach settlements. If a deal cannot be reached, workers can again declare a strike 72-hour notice.
“Alberta’s government is providing another mediator to the parties in these disputes so that there is a full opportunity for the parties to reach a negotiated settlement before a work disruption occurs,” Jones said in a Tuesday morning statement.
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EAs, support staff argue salaries too low for current economy
Local 2559 members have not received a raise since 2015 and are paid less than their public system counterparts. Local 2545, which represents public system staff, say their last wage increase was a 1.25 per cent boost in 2020.
Both CUPE Locals say their members are exhausted from working in schools that are swelling with students and badly funded by the province. Many members are working two to three jobs to pay their bills. Some are relying on services like the Wood Buffalo Food Bank, said Lynn Fleet, president of CUPE Local 2545.
The workers argue their wages have failed to match rising costs of food, utilities, fuel and other services in Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo. Danis and Fleet say many members are earning below minimum wage when days off for Christmas and spring break, teachers’ conventions and other breaks are subtracted.
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The Catholic and public superintendents have also said in separate, unrelated interviews their schools are crowded, understaffed and poorly funded.
CUPE gets support from other labour groups
Most CUPE members did not spend Tuesday morning picketing, but the ones who did were joined by allies from other unions and labour groups.
More than 20 people picketed outside Dr. K.A. Clark School on Franklin Avenue. A security guard kept watch by the entrance, however staff and families were not blocked and no protesters tried entering the school.
CUPE Alberta president Rory Gill said the union will challenge the province’s move in court and in protests. A rally is planned in Fort McMurray for Sept. 21.
Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), said the delay won’t address concerns about crowded classrooms and small budgets. Staff at other school divisions across Alberta have similar complaints about their schools, he said.
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“It’s basically sending a message to employers all across this province that they can keep wages down even while costs are going up. This is bigger than Fort McMurray. This is bigger than these two school boards in this town. This is about wage suppression,” said McGowan.
“If this is a trend that they want to continue, then workers fighting back is going to be a trend that they continue with,” said James Gault, vice president of AUPE’s northeast region, at the protest.
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vmcdermott@postmedia.com
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