The union representing school support workers who work for Parkland School Division says its members will issue a 72-hour strike notice to their employer Friday and expect to begin to take “work to rule” job action as early as Tuesday.
Thousands of school support workers in Edmonton, Sturgeon County and Fort McMurray are already on strike.
A news release issued by the Canadian Union of Public Employees said members of CUPE Local 5543 voted 91 per cent in favour of job action this week.
CUPE 5543 President Wendy Harman said the “work to rule actions” she expects to begin on Tuesday will see members be asked to not work beyond the hours they are paid for, and not to take part in any volunteer activities at their jobs.
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Global News has reached out to Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides and the Parkland School Division for comment on CUPE’s news release.
In response, Nicolaides and Finance Minister Nate Horner re-issued a joint statement they had originally issued on Tuesday, accusing CUPE’s national leadership of interfering with local contract bargaining in Edmonton, Sturgeon County and Medicine Hat.
The union has denied the claim.
CUPE said the average educational support worker in Alberta earns about $34,500 per year.
“Many of our members work two to three jobs to earn a living wage,” Harman said. “No one will take the jobs at these wages, it’s hard to replace sick employees, students and education are suffering.
“It’s a hard decision to vote to strike. But doing nothing will make a bad situation in classrooms even worse. We’re taking action to protect education.”
Harman said CUPE will give parents and students as much notice as possible.
Members of several other locals representing workers in Alberta also voted in favour of job action this week. Those who voted in favour were school support workers who are employed by the Calgary public and Catholic school boards, as well as the Foothills division and the Black Gold school division.
–with a file from The Canadian Press
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