Two more groups of Alberta education workers have served a 72-hour strike notice, teeing up job action for Monday.
CUPE says 570 support staff at Black Gold School Division, south of Edmonton, and 300 support staff at Foothills School Division, south of Calgary, have served their notices as of Thursday evening.
The union adds that both groups are expected to hit the picket lines after the weekend.
Foothills and Black Gold school division employees will join 800 support workers at the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) and 350 workers from the Calgary Catholic School Division, who served notices earlier this week.
The job action comes after members voted overwhelming in favour earlier this month.
These groups join 4,000 workers in Edmonton, Fort McMurray, and the Sturgeon School Division who are already on strike. An additional 400 employees of Parkland School Division started work to rule on Tuesday.
According to CUPE, the strikes come out of desperation for higher pay; the average school support worker in Alberta makes around $34,500 annually.
“We went too long without a meaningful wage increase, during periods of record inflation,” said president Rory Gill. “Many staff work multiple jobs and some rely upon the food bank. People who are responsible for our children’s education deserve better.”
He adds the employees don’t want to leave their students, but they know doing nothing will only make the situation worse.
Gill says the province has the lowest per-capita education funding in the country and “mandates” from Alberta’s government restrict the wages that school divisions can offer.
“We need the province to step up and help,” said Gill. “They brought us to this point, they need to take responsibility.”