Province halts potential Edmonton public school support workers' strike as union slams 'delay tactic'

The Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 3550 and CUPE Alberta say it is disappointing that the Alberta government will step into labour negotiations with the Edmonton Public Schools and halt a potential strike involving school support staff. 

The province announced Tuesday afternoon that it has appointed a disputes inquiry board in a bid to get the school board and union to reach a collective agreement. The move was requested by Edmonton Public Schools. 

Educational assistants, library technicians and administrative assistants are among the 3,200 support workers who could have gone on strike as soon as Thursday.

"Incredibly disappointed," said CUPE Alberta president Rory Gill in an interview with CBC on the move by the province. 

"They are forcing employers to continue to come to the table with wages that are simply unacceptable."

Because the disputes inquiry board was established before strike or lockout action began, the union cannot strike and employers cannot lock out employees until the inquiry process ends, which can last up to 30 days. 

"Alberta's government is providing another mediator to the parties in this dispute so that there is a full opportunity for the parties to reach a negotiated settlement before a work disruption occurs," said Matt Jones, minister of jobs, economy and trade, in a news release. 

The union asserts an inquiry is not a neutral third party with authority to prescribe a fair deal.

"As long as the Alberta government continues to impose a low wage mandate on the school board, this delay tactic will not be helpful in reaching a deal," said a Tuesday news release. 

CUPE local 3550 president Mandy Lamoureux previously told CBC that wages have risen by about a dollar an hour in the last 12 years, during which time Alberta's consumer price index — a measure of the cost of living — rose 34 per cent.

Educational assistants, who work 35 hours a week, 10 months a year, earn an average of $27,000 a year, she said.

Members are not only working multiple jobs, they're visiting food banks and struggling to pay their bills, Gill said.

Gill said what has unfolded with labour disputes between the bargaining committee representing educational support staff at Fort McMurray's Catholic and public schools have been concerning. 

A disputes inquiry board was established after some staff were set to strike on Sept. 17.

The Fort McMurray union will hold a strike vote Wednesday after rejecting the deal offered to them via the board. 

Edmonton Public Schools superintendent Darrel Robertson told media Tuesday afternoon pursuing a disputes inquiry board application was new territory.

"It's not something that I want to apply for. I want to reach an agreement at the bargaining table all the time and continue our work," Robertson said. 

"We are a mighty team that is here to serve kids and to serve Edmontonians, and so I want to keep that work going forward, and I know that I'm not alone in that. I know our support staff across the division share in that sentiment as well."

About 950 Edmonton Public Schools custodians in CUPE local 474 held a strike vote between Oct. 17 and 20 with 97 per cent in favour of action.

After confirmation of the final results by the Alberta Labour Board, the local is now in a position to give 72-hour strike notice.

Next steps

If a settlement cannot be reached in the dispute with Edmonton school staff, the board will make a recommendation for settlement to Jones.

The recommendation will then be forwarded to both parties, who will have 10 days to notify the minister of their acceptance of the recommendation. If the parties accept the recommendation, it will form part of a new collective agreement and the dispute will be settled.

If one or both parties to a dispute rejects the recommendation, the Alberta Labour Relations Board conducts a vote of the party that did not accept it.

If the recommendation is rejected again, the parties can continue negotiations to reach a settlement or a strike or lockout action may commence after 72 hours.

"None of our members in education want to be away from the schools. They are dedicated. They are passionate about it, and every day, I get inspired by their stories," Gill said. 

"But if they can't support themselves, they can't support the kids and we need to be able to bargain freely."