Edmonton public schools and CUPE still without a deal as more strike votes loom

It was a cold morning on the picket line for education support staff in Edmonton. As the strike enters its fourth week, the union and school board remain at an impasse.

“These folks feel like they got their back against the wall,” said Rory Gill, the president of CUPE Alberta.

Parents in Edmonton got a letter Wednesday from the Edmonton Public School Board where superintendent Darrel Robertson said union leaders for CUPE Local 3550 have left the bargaining table, saying the two remain far apart on wages and that the union wanted a six-year deal with a 31 per cent increase to hourly wages.

While the school board, was offering a 13.5 per cent increase over eight years, along with changes to working hours that they claim would bring the raise closer to 23 per cent.

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Robertson also says the board is advocating for changes to provincial funding, noting the deal they offered “maximizes” wage increases within their ability to pay.

But the union is accusing the school board of misrepresenting what happened, saying the offers mentioned in the letter, were never tabled.

They also took aim at the Alberta government, noting that five more support staff unions across the province are now scheduled to hold a strike vote next week, including two in Calgary.

“Strike in Edmonton, the strike in [Fort] McMurray, the strike in Sturgeon County, and the possible strikes in the rest of Alberta are because this provincial government won’t fund the best educational system in the country,” explained Gill.

Citynews reached out to the Ministry of Finance for a comment Wednesday but did not hear back at this time.