Strike notice issued to school division in Manitoba, union wants fairer wages
Global News
A notice by the union representing educational assistants with the Hanover School Division is setting up for a potential strike action in November.
Educational assistants in southeastern Manitoba could soon walk off their jobs pending negotiations for a new contract.
A strike notice was issued by the union representing over 200 educational assistants (EA) to the Hanover School Division on Wednesday. The union, a local branch of the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC), had met the school division on Oct. 24. In a press release the day after, they said members had voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike mandate.
Negotiations have been ongoing since March this year. The two parties are set to meet on Oct. 30. As per the notice, if a deal is not met by the end of day Tuesday, next week, workers will walk off the job.
The issues being brought to the table include calls for competitive and fairer wages.
“We’re hopeful… we feel like we have demonstrated to the employer that their employees are unhappy enough that they’re ready to walk,” said Goeff Dueck Thiessen, regional director with the CLAC in Manitoba.
“We’re got some improvements to sick pay that we’re looking for. These folks are amongst maybe the only EAs in the province who don’t have a paid rest break. We’re looking at education premiums. We’re looking at hourly rates. We’re also looking for the number of days in a school year to be consistent.”
Dueck Thiessen said that the work EAs do is crucial for the classroom. Working in an environment with a high risk of violence and risk to workplace safety and health, he said, is all part of the job. He noted that the risk comes at times with the students with whom an EA works. Though not all students are violent, he added that there is a “high risk element to the occupation.”
“We’re talking about something that you’d want someone to be paid well to do. I don’t think the public is aware of just how much is going on in schools that these folks are dealing with,” said Dueck Thiessen. He added that, on average, the EAs in the school division are paid $4 less than those around the province.
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