CKPG File Image

By Adam Berls

education

40,000 K-12 support staff now covered by ratified agreements

Mar 17, 2023 | 2:41 PM

VICTORIA — More than 40,000 K-12 support staff are now covered by 69 local agreements ratified under the Province’s Shared Recovery Mandate.

The Ministry of Education says “unionized support staff work in a variety of positions across the province’s 60 school districts, including as education assistants, Indigenous support workers, custodians, trades and maintenance workers, clerical, accounting, and in information technology. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is the largest union representing support staff in the K-12 sector.”

The ratified agreement includes:

• a three-year term: July 1, 2022, until June 30, 2025
• general wage increases:
  • Year 1: a flat increase of $0.25 per hour, which provides a greater percentage increase for lower-paid employees, plus a wage increase of 3.24%
  • Year 2: 5.5%, plus a potential cost-of-living adjustment to a maximum of 6.75%
  • Year 3: 2%, plus a potential cost-of-living adjustment to a maximum of 3%
• A negotiable flexibility allocation for as much as 0.25% in years 1 and 2 to support mutually beneficial outcomes for both parties.