Talks between the South East Cornerstone Public School Division and the Service Employees International Union West (SEIU-West) that involved an appointed conciliator, hit a stalemate in mid-March. As a result of the stalled negotiations, a public rally is being planned by SEIU, which will be staged in Weyburn, the home of the school district’s head office.
“Hope was expressed for a while, but at the 11th hour, there was a breakdown in the negotiations,” said Barbara Cape, president of SEIU-West.
SEIU represents about 250 Cornerstone employees that include educational assistants, bus drivers, administrative support staff and maintenance personnel among others.
“We have since made a few overtures to return to the table, but we didn’t hear anything from them,” added Cape, expressing a desire to complete the negotiations rather than explore strike action.
“A 14-day cooling-off period was imposed after the talks broke down. Now the education assistants and others in the union want to have discussions with the public and explain the impacts a strike might have on the students,” said Cape, noting the membership had already voted in favour of strike action if no contract could be reached using the conciliator. The cooling-off period ended March 30. Any job action now would only require a 48-hour notice to the school division.
Cape said SEIU is prepared to go back to the table to look at a revised offer.
Audrey Trombley, chairwoman of the Cornerstone board of trustees, said the standstill situation was unfortunate and as things stood now, they are unable to offer anything more than the current four per cent over two years in wage increases.
It was also noted other support workers and employees represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) who worked for the Cornerstone division, had already agreed to the four per cent offer.
“The difficulty here is that we inherited more than one union with amalgamation a number of years ago, and it’s difficult to offer more to one than the other. It’s a tough situation. We can’t set mill rates any more, so we have no avenue to raise funds. Others have signed and feel they have a fair contract. We’re in the ballpark, compared with other school divisions across the province. So as of the last meeting of the board, we’ve had to stick to the four per cent,” Trombley said.
“The school division’s board of directors are fixated on a final offer that has already been rejected and remain unwilling to return to the bargaining table,” said Cape.
She said it did not appear that the school board acknowledged the significant day-to-day interactions among the support staff members and students and the employees’ worth in that in creating a positive learning environment.
But Trombley replied that, in fact, the main mission of the board, “centres on the care and safety of our children and we most definitely value the work of our support employees. They do some awesome work on behalf of the kids, often making the extra effort to make sure our kids are safe and properly looked after.”
Maureen Jackiw, an administrative assistant and SEIU-West unit chairwoman for Cornerstone, said they were prepared to return to the bargaining table to look at any revised proposal by the board. There was a clear desire to see that support services not be disrupted. “We are hoping for a show of support from the families in the community at our upcoming rally,” Jackiw said, referring to an April 18 rally at the Royal Canadian Legion Auditorium in Weyburn, starting at 1 p.m.
“We would ask that interested students, parents and grandparents join us at this event,” said Cape. “We will share the many valuable services provided by our members in the schools and explain how our many challenges and the mounting aggravation has led to the increasing frustration of our support workers in this school division.”
Cape added, while the number of education assistants across the province has diminished by 350 over the past few years, there has been a growth in immigration where newly arrived students usually require the services of such people to overcome basic learning challenges to become successful.
“And a two per cent a year offer for two years is less than the increase in the basic cost of living. If they can’t provide more staff, then perhaps they should pay for the extras that the rest of them are providing.”
Cape said what the union is seeking, “is not extravagant, a one percent hike in the offer might be accepted. Cornerstone’s operational funding went up about 28 per cent and money was made available by the Ministry of Education, so it’s just a matter of where they want to put it. We suggest they invest in the students, teachers and those who assist them. Our desire is to reach a deal before we have to take strike action.”
