Some of the thousands of education support staff across Alberta are returning to work this week after their union reached contract agreements with the province on Monday.
Deals were ratified on Monday night for workers in the Fort McMurray Public and Fort McMurray Catholic school districts after they and the Edmonton Public School Board reached tentative agreements over the weekend, according to a spokesman for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in Alberta.
Workers in Fort McMurray represented by CUPE will return to work on Wednesday, Lou Arab said in a media release.
Arab said earlier Monday the deals will be until 2028 and that the wage package is higher than the original government mandate that was imposed on school districts. Other details of the agreements have not been made public.
“The government wage mandate was three per cent for four years and we were able to improve upon that,” Arab said.
‘Such welcome news’
The news is cautiously being celebrated by parents, including Pam Puri whose 12-year-old daughter has down syndrome.
“(I) saw the news and just wanted to drop to my knees and sob. I mean, it was such welcome news and I am just hoping and praying that the deal goes through,” Puri told CTV News Edmonton on Monday.
Puri says her daughter was forced to miss about 90 per cent of class for the last two months due to striking support workers. She fears that lost time could have long term consequences.
“I’m very concerned that she could have regressed and more likely has. It’s like having an extra summer vacation and a bit more,” Puri said.
She says the strike has been tough on her family.
“It wasn’t easy and then just the fact, knowing we were kept out of school and everybody else could go, including her sibling, I wouldn’t have wished this upon my worst enemy.”
The new contracts don’t cover the 2,600 support workers still on strike in Sturgeon and Parkland counties, Calgary, Foothills and Black Gold School Divisions, but the province is optimistic deals will be reached.
“I just hope we can get to a degree of normalcy so we can make ensure we are supporting kids in the best possible way,” Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said Monday.
Nicolaides emphasizes the province is spending $1.1 billion on hiring educational staff over the next three years, which includes teachers, educational assistants and support staff.
Finance Minister Nate Horner says he’s hopeful the deal will be ratified and is positive.
“I’m very firm in my comment that Alberta has to be at market and that’s what I think this deal will be.”
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Chelan Skulski
