As many as 3,200 Edmonton public school support employees did not report to work Thursday to protest an impasse over wages.
The decision sent school principals rushing to tell some families to keep their kids home from class, and parents scrambling to find child care for some students with exceptional needs.
In a note to parents posted on Facebook Thursday morning, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) local 3550, which represents educational assistants, school administrative assistants, library technicians and other support workers in the public division, said its workers would be off the job despite the provincial government’s move to delay a strike.
“They ask for your support alongside them in this fight for fairness and the sustainability of education support services in our schools,” the union’s statement said.
Edmonton Public School Board (EPSB) spokesperson Carrie Rosa said in a statement that CUPE local 3550 advised its members not to report to work Thursday. Rosa said it prompted principals to make contingency plans, which included “contacting families of students who require support staff for safety reasons, advising them that for their safety, they should stay home.”
Rosa did not answer questions about how many workers failed to show up for work or how many students were affected.
Health and education workers rally outside legislature
Many of those workers attended a public sector worker rally outside the Alberta legislature on Thursday, demanding wage increases to catch up with inflation.
CUPE Alberta president Rory Gill said the walkout was a one-day action to send a message to the government to stay out of negotiations between the school board and its workers.
After more than four years without a new contract, local 3550 workers voted last week 97 per cent in favour of taking job action, then gave notice they would walk off the job Thursday.
On Tuesday, EPSB superintendent Darrel Robertson said he had requested the government appoint a dispute inquiry board in another bid to reach an agreement with workers.
Within hours, the provincial government announced it had appointed that board, which prevents legal strike action for the next 30 days. The board is an entity that will meet with employees and employers and write a report suggesting a potential resolution.
The union and labour relations experts say appointing the board is a delay tactic that threatens workers’ legal right to strike. The government also diverted education support workers and two school boards in Fort McMurray to a dispute inquiry board after workers there voted in favour of a strike last month.
EPSB told parents earlier this week to brace for potential staffing challenges on Thursday, then informed parents late on Tuesday that job action had been averted.
At issue are wages the education support workers say are so low, some staff have to take additional jobs and visit food banks to meet their basic needs.
Union local president Mandy Lamoureux has previously said wages rose by about a dollar an hour in the last 12 years, during which the cost of living in Alberta jumped by 34 per cent.
Educational assistants, who frequently help children with disabilities and challenges, earn an average of $27,000 during the 10-month school year, she said.
At the legislature rally, educational support worker Lisa Leskow-Luce said the government isn’t fighting fair by delaying workers’ ability to strike.
“I’m here today to fight for wage parity, to fight for fairer wages. To show the government, Edmonton Public School Board, that we are not going to take this lightly, that we deserve a better wage increase than what’s been offered,” she said.
Further school disruptions may follow in Edmonton.
About 950 Edmonton Public Schools custodians also voted 97 per cent in favour of strike action earlier this week. School division spokesperson Rosa says the custodians in CUPE local 474 have not given the division a 72-hour strike notice.