-

Substitute Teachers Are Being Used to Replace Support Staff

EDMONTON, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)--While the province continues to ignore the crisis in Alberta classrooms, Edmonton Public Schools is bringing substitute teachers into classrooms to handle the extra work normally done by education support staff. Support workers are on day three of a strike at the school district.

CUPE 3550 President Mandy Lamoureux says the board is paying $230 per day per teacher, considerably more than the wage being asked for by support workers in the strike.

“While the Alberta government tells support staff to be happy with poverty level wages, there’s apparently enough money to cover extra teachers’ salaries,” said Lamouruex. “They should be talking to us about ways to solve the real, long-term problems in Alberta classrooms.”

Lamoureux said the average education support worker in Alberta makes just $34,500, with Educational Assistants averaging even less at $26,400. Support workers have not had wage increases in ten years, a period of time in which inflation was at 30%.

“The best way to solve the crisis in the classrooms isn’t to scramble and hire a few substitute teachers,” said Lamoureux. “The best way to solve the crisis in the classrooms is to solve the underfunding problem, the low wage problem, and the recruitment problem.”

:clc/cope 491

Contacts

Lou Arab, Communications Representative
larab@cupe.ca | 780.271.2722

Industry:

Canadian Union of Public Employees

Release Versions
English

Contacts

Lou Arab, Communications Representative
larab@cupe.ca | 780.271.2722

More News From Canadian Union of Public Employees

PRESS CONFERENCE: Strike Looms at Children’s Aid Society of Toronto as Child Welfare Crisis Deepens

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Now in a legal strike position, and with child welfare services under mounting strain, frontline workers at the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto are speaking out. CUPE Local 2316 is once again sounding the alarm that workers are facing chronic understaffing, program cuts, and years of provincial underfunding have pushed child welfare services to a breaking point — putting children and families at risk. At a press conference on Tuesday, February 17 at 12:30 p.m., union...

Ottawa projected to lose funding for 725 frontline health care staff and nearly 200 hospital beds by 2027-28: new report

OTTAWA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As hospitals cut hundreds of jobs and eliminate vacant positions amidst budgetary constraints imposed by the Conservative government, the largest health care union in Ontario is warning about longer wait-times, rushed care, preventable mistakes, and overcrowded hallways. CUPE released a new research report, “Driven to the brink: projected cuts to intensify Ontario’s hospital crisis,” which contrasts the additional resources required to simply maintain existing service l...

Ford Government passing the buck on university funding – students, workers and economy will pay the price

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Ontario government made a funding announcement today that will continue deep staff cuts, rising tuition fees and increased student debt. “The minister was long on scapegoating, but short on funding. Ontario has the worst university funding in Canada, and he’s passing the blame for his own cuts to other levels of government, and passing more and more of the costs onto the students, who are already graduating with record debt loads,” said Fred Hahn, president of CUPE...
Back to Newsroom