The Edmonton school custodians’ labour dispute remained in a holding pattern Friday.
The Alberta Labour Relations Board approved CUPE Local 474’s strike vote outcome on Tuesday. With a 70 per cent turnout of eligible members, the vote was 97 per cent in favour of a strike if the Edmonton Public School Board doesn’t come back to the table with alternate proposals showing some movement that representatives can take back to union members.
A 72-hour strike notice wasn’t expected until after the weekend.
The sticking points between the Edmonton Public School Board and Local 474 were said to be mandated caps imposed by the UCP government’s bargaining and compensation office, with added negotiating points of benefits and things like staff coverage during sick days.
While an attitude of cautious optimism prevailed at first, doubts have arisen over failure of the teaching assistant’s CUPE local’s ability to gain traction, due to the government’s wage caps, a source said.
Edmonton’s labour scene is seeing the scenario recently played out in Fort McMurray, where the education locals gave notice to strike, and the day before they were set to go on strike, the minister of jobs, economy and trade imposed a Dispute Inquiry Board, forcing them into another round of mediation.
CUPE Local 3550, Edmonton Public Schools teaching assistants and other staff, was pulled back from the brink of strike Thursday and ordered back to the bargaining table by the provincial compensation and bargaining office’s formation of a dispute inquiry board, the province’s version of a mediator when an agreement can’t seem to be reached through bargaining.
Educational assistants and support staff at Edmonton’s largest school division did not show up for classes Thursday and instead rallied in front of the Alberta legislature to protest against low wages and the province’s decision to approve a dispute inquiry board.
Justin Brattinga, senior press secretary to the provincial Finance Ministry, issued a statement to Postmedia Friday afternoon.
“This is a matter between the school board and the unions” he said. “The current negotiation between CUPE and EPSB is for the last round of bargaining of which 58 of 66 collective agreements for education support workers are already settled.”