REGINA – The CUPE 8443 union which represents education support workers with Saskatoon Public Schools, has declared an impasse in bargaining with the school division.
In a news release the union said they filed for impasse with the Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety on April 30.
CUPE 8443 represents close to 1,500 education support workers in Saskatoon Public School division. According to the union, wages are the main issue.
“This is about being paid fairly for the work our members do every day,” said Dene Nicholson, CUPE 8443 president, in a statement. “Education support workers are among the lowest paid workers in the school system, but schools depend on us. Costs keep going up and our wages just aren’t keeping up.”
Nicholson adds that the bargaining team “remains committed to achieving a fair and reasonable collective agreement for our members – one that includes equitable wage increases reflecting the value of the work education support workers do.”
The next step is mediation, with the union saying they are hopeful that might close the gap, but no dates have been set as of yet.
