School Year Will Start As Support Workers Negotiate
Sunday, September 1, 2013 @ 7:54 AM
Prince George, B.C. – The union representing support workers at B.C. schools is eager to see what the government has to offer when contract negotiations resume this week.
CUPE-BC represents 27,000 support staff, including teaching assistants, secretaries, custodians and bus drivers, in 57 locals around the province. When negotiations broke down on August 13th, the union said the majority of those locals had voted in support of taking strike action which could have disrupted the start of the school year. However, a new set of negotiations running from September 4th to 6th was announced and the union put its strike plan on hold while remaining on strike alert.
The CUPE members, who have been without a contract since June 2012 and have not had a raise since 2009, are seeking more money and an improvement in their hours of work. The government wants the union to show where cuts can be made to fund a raise.
Education Minister Peter Fassbender stated last week that he believes the government can negotiate contracts with both CUPE and the BC Teachers Federation without disruptions to the school year.
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