School support staff to hold rallies this weekend

You may see a lot of CUPE signs when you’re out this weekend.

Thousands of school support staff workers, including bus drivers, custodians, tradespeople and many more could walk off the job next Friday.

They’ll be in a legal strike position, after the union recently voted in favour of job-action.

CUPE Local 964 President Lisa Demolitor of Tri-County area says there will be several info pickets and rallies across the province.

“Come out and talk to us, and hear what we have to say. We aren’t asking for the world, we just want to be respected. We have been under stress, under-valued and under-staffed for way too long,” said Demolitor.

She and the union want meaningful conversations, and for the province to give a decent wage increase to all classifications.

Minister remains hopeful

The province’s Education Minister remains optimistic a deal can get done.

Becky Druhan says many CUPE members haven’t had a chance to look at the latest offers from government.

“And those offers include significant wage increases for some classifications, and really importantly, a path to equitable wages across the province, which these valuable educational support staff have never seen,” said Druhan.

She’s hopeful that the unions will hold a vote on the offers before a potential strike.

Druhan acknowledges there is some anxiety among parents, and assures that each region is preparing a contingency plan to address potential labour disruptions.