Strike notice served by Edmonton educational support staff

School support staff in Edmonton is serving a strike notice on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2024. (Source: CUPE Alberta/Facebook)

School support staff, including educational assistants, served a 72-hour strike notice on Thursday, its union has announced.

More than 3,000 support staff from the Edmonton Public School Board (EPSB) and Sturgeon Public School Division could walk off the job as early as Monday.

The strike process began last October when CUPE 3550 and Edmonton Public Schools negotiations over better wages stalled. The wage increase offered, 2.75 per cent in the first four years of an eight-year contract, is capped by the Alberta government.

The provincial government appointed a Disputes Inquiry Board (DIB) to help EPSB and CUPE reach an agreement.

Local president Mandy Lamoureux has called the DIB a delay tactic and said Thursday the strike action "is part of CUPE’s plans to escalate job action until the Smith government addresses low wages in the sector."

"Our members want the government to step up and recognize that we need to be paid a livable wage. The cost of living has gone up by 30 per cent, our wages haven't kept up to that pace," Lamoureux said, adding the average Alberta educational support worker earns $34,500.

"We do bargain with the school board, but the province has ordered the districts to limit our wage increases."

In December, the DIB recommended the same 2.75-per-cent offer and the union rejected it again.

In a statement to CTV News Edmonton, the Alberta government called the strike notice unfortunate and insisted the negotiation is between the school boards and the union.

"Union leadership recommended its members reject these offers and is misleading their members and the public on their members’ wages," Finance Minister Nate Horner said. "The work of Educational Assistants is important, but only takes place part-time and only during the school year. No one would expect to earn a full-time salary for 10 months of part-time work.

"Going on strike is not a solution. CUPE blaming government is not a solution. It is not fair to workers who will have to live on strike pay and it’s not fair to the students who will miss out on valuable learning opportunities."

Edmonton Public Schools is "disappointed" CUPE 3550 served the strike notice.

"We have worked incredibly hard over the past two years to reach an agreement that would avoid any disruption to student learning," the division told CTV News Edmonton in a statement. "We have tabled everything we possibly can, including a longer-term eight-year deal that provides certainty and stability for support staff."

EPSB said schools are working on contingency plans to support learning.

Roughly 1,000 school support workers in Fort McMurray have been on strike since November.