The union for support workers in Brandon School Division (BSD) is among several other Manitoba school locals that have recently achieved new collective bargaining agreements.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) says the new agreements between CUPE and BSD, River East Transcona School Division, Seven Oaks School Division and Prairie Rose School Division ensure school support staff receive raises that are consistent with those recently negotiated by other CUPE Locals and other unions in Manitoba, including the Manitoba Teachers’ Society, and are retroactive: 1.6% in 2019, 1.4% in 2020, and 0.5% in 2021 and cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2022.
“CUPE school support staff have been leaders in pushing for fair wage settlements, despite the provincial government’s attempts to undervalue their worth,” says Lee McLeod, CUPE Regional Director. “We hope other school divisions follow suit and recognize what parents and the community already know: school support staff are the pillars of our education system and deserve fairness.”
McLeod says “While the provincial government has said it will not pursue Bill 64, The Education Modernization Act, they have yet to fill the funding gap created by underfunding in the education sector and the phase-out of the education property tax or repeal their wage freeze mandate.”
CUPE says other school divisions represented by the union that have reached agreements outside the province’s attempted mandate includes St. James-Assiniboia School Division, Sunrise School Division, Interlake School Division, Evergreen School Division, and Turtle River School Division. CUPE thanks the Boards of Trustees of all these school divisions for their leadership in advance of the new school year. Seven Oaks School Division custodians and bus drivers will hold a ratification meeting next week.
Negotiations are ongoing in other school divisions, including Pine Creek, Portage la Prairie, and Park West School Division where CUPE-represented support staff currently have strike mandates. Custodians, trades, and maintenance staff at the Winnipeg School Division are also currently in a strike position and could set up picket lines in the coming weeks if the Board continues to prevent a fair settlement in line with other divisions.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees represents approximately 6,000 education workers, including education assistants, custodians, bus drivers, clerical, library techs,
intercultural liaisons and more in 25 school divisions across Manitoba.