Obtaining full medical benefits for School District 43 education assistants is a key aim of local bargaining set to begin later this fall, according to the president of the union local representing those workers.
CUPE Local 561 president Dave Ginter was commenting on the need to improve the working conditions for workers who support children with special needs as the hiring and retention of education assistants becomes a key issue around the board table and on the hustings as trustees vie for votes in the Oct. 20 civic election.
Local bargaining can begin now that a tentative agreement has been reached for support staff between the BC Public School Employers’ Association and the unions under the province’s sustainable service negotiating mandate. The agreement, which will be ratified once local bargaining concludes, is for a three-year term and includes annual wage increases of 2% per year.
Ginter said CUPE local presidents voted 63% to support the agreement this time — after turning down a previous deal a few months ago — because more funding was added for support staff at the local level.
He said he hopes to convince SD43 to provide fully-paid benefits to education assistants who are only allowed to work 30 hours per week, which is considered part-time, and thus required to contribute a portion of the fees for their medical plans.
“That’s a big issue when you’re competing with other districts [for workers],” Ginter said.
The local bargaining unit would also like to see some positions restored that were cut in 2013, including apprentices, and Ginter said he disagreed with recent comments made by SD43 officials that morale is good at the maintenance shop because positions have been restored.
“When they talk about having a surplus, well if you’re in a surplus, give us back what you took,” Ginter said.
The local also plans to get involved in the upcoming civic election by raising issues such as trustee pay, which is the highest in the province, and trustee tours to China paid for by the Chinese government through the Confucius Institute. He said CUPE Local 561 will purchase advertising and follow the rules of third-party adversing.
