Opposition NDP demands Alberta government act ahead of school support worker strike

The union representing some education support workers in the Edmonton area served a 72-hour strike notice on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2024. (Brandon Lynch/CTV News Edmonton)

Alberta's Opposition NDP is calling on the provincial government to act as thousands of school support workers prepare to walk off the job in Edmonton and some nearby communities.

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Alberta's Opposition NDP is calling on the provincial government to act as thousands of school support workers prepare to walk off the job in Edmonton and some nearby communities.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees said picket lines are to go up at 7:30 a.m. on Monday at three public high schools in Edmonton and all schools in the Sturgeon Public School Division.

The union is demanding fair wages for the more than 3,000 education support workers it represents in both divisions. Counterparts in Fort McMurray began picketing earlier this week.

Education support workers include education assistants, librarians, cafeteria workers and administration staff.

"It is unconscionable for the (United Conservative Party) government to continue to underfund education and allow EAs to not be adequately compensated for the important and demanding work they do to ensure all of our kids have access to the education they need and deserve," Opposition NDP deputy leader Rakhi Pancholi told reporters Friday.

"We can't let the UCP get away with blaming either the shockingly underpaid workers or the most underfunded school boards in the country for this situation."

CUPE Local 3550 president Mandy Lamoureux has said the average educational support worker in Alberta earns $34,500 per year.

Finance Minister Nate Horner has accused CUPE leadership of misleading its members and the public and said no one should expect to earn a full-time salary for 10 months of part-time work.

He has also said school boards are responsible for negotiating with CUPE and that the province merely provides the funding to those boards.

Asked Friday about Horner's comments, Pancholi called them an insult to education workers and accused the province of misleading Albertans by pointing the finger at underfunded school boards.

She added the province sets the terms for negotiations and school boards can only do what they can with their current funding.

"They are disrespecting the negotiation process that those unions and those workers are rightfully engaged in," Pancholi said.

Pam Puri told the news conference her 12-year-old daughter with special needs could not attend school without her education assistant's support. A strike would be very upsetting for her child, she said.

Even if her daughter is accommodated, it could mean she's isolated from classmates, has a shortened school day or would be forced to stay home altogether.

"This is absolutely not fair for children caught in the middle," Puri said.

Alberta Teachers' Association president Jason Schilling said in a Friday statement that his group respects CUPE's right to strike.

"Although teachers are overburdened without the support of educational assistants, we recognize this is an important step in moving towards properly staffed classrooms."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2025.