By Jessica Kerr
A potential strike at B.C. schools was averted this week as the province reached a tentative deal with school support workers.
CUPE and the B.C. Public Schools' Employers Association came to an agreement late Wednesday. The two-year tentative agreement, which still needs to be ratified by union members, includes a 3.5 per cent wage increase over two years and no concessions.
The union had been asking for a four per cent wage hike.
"As well, the agreement recognizes the professional role of education assistants through formal changes to the School Act and collective agreements," said Colin Pawson, president of CUPE Local 1091, which represents support staff, such as custodians, education assistants and secretaries in Delta schools.
Pawson is also the CUPE B.C. K-12 Presidents' Council chair.
The agreement is retroactive to July 1, 2012 because support staff has been working without a contact for over a year.
It provides a one per cent wage increase on July 1, 2013, two per cent on Feb. 1, 2014 and 0.5 per cent on May 1, 2014.
"CUPE B.C.'s 27,000 education workers are vital to keeping our school clean, safe and inclusive," said union president Mark Hancock.
"I want to thank all 85,000 of our members across the province, and our K-12 members in particular, for their solidarity. It's only because we held together that we were able to negotiate a fair and reasonable contract, despite demands for concessions from the government."
The province said earlier this month that money for any wage increases will have to come out of school board budgets under the "cooperative gains" mandate, which states there will be no new money for wage hikes.
No one from the Delta school board or Delta school district was prepared to comment before the Optimist's deadline.
