Letters about the wages of education workers

In the last round of bargaining, education workers negotiated a deal which tied their raises to the Alberta Average Weekly Earnings index.  When the index came out with a higher rate than expected, the Conservative government balked at living up to their side of the deal.  CUPE members have been expressing their opinions in the letters pages of local newspapers.  Here are three samples:

Special-needs funding

The educational needs of special-needs students don't change because the economy does. Students with significant special needs are the most vulnerable students in our public schools.

Alberta's $5.4-billion education budget included no increase for those severe special-needs students. In the 2009-10 school year, Alberta's school boards will need to support those students, whether there is a provincial grant rate increase or not.

Keeping funding constant during Alberta Education's current review does not provide the needed cost-of-living increases for supplies and services for these students. Where will the money come from?

Without additional funds, school boards will have to divert cash meant for all classrooms to keep up with current funding consistent for these most vulnerable students, never mind any additional programming initiatives. School boards are already cash-strapped because they did not receive government funding to cover the previously agreed to raises for their staff.

The government's decision to deny special-needs students any additional funding for the upcoming school year is cold-hearted and unconscionable. Let's all remember that the next time we go to the polls.

R.F. Kostiuk, Edmonton

 

Why the fuss over raises owed to workers?

The Edmonton Journal
April 26, 2009

Re: "Switch in pay formula squeezes school boards," by Paula Simons, April 18.

What's all the fuss about? Alberta's average weekly earnings (AAWE) index is 5.99 per cent and Alberta's public education support and service workers are seen by some as unworthy of receiving this cost-of-living increase. Apparently, they should be sensitive to today's economy.

Never mind that these workers are receiving this increase more than 18 months after other Albertans received their cost-of-living hikes.

In negotiations during the boom times, public education support and services workers were not greedy and accepted raises tied to Statistics Canada's annual AAWE index. They did not chase higher wage rates as many in the private sector did.

Family budgets took a hit as these workers patiently waited. They were affected by inflation just like everyone else. Why should their increases should be denied now?

These workers support teachers, helping children to learn.

The province had plenty of notice to save up for this. Government is getting a good deal from these workers and should fund the province's school boards accordingly.

When the AAWE is calculated on a year that sees little or no growth in average weekly earnings, these workers will receive little or no wage increase. So why the fuss?

The province should get on with it, put the funding in place, and do it quickly before school boards are forced to make cuts.

Carol Chapman,
Edmonton

Just do it

The Edmonton Journal
April 26, 2009
 
A deal is a deal. Don't ask public education support and services workers to reconsider their AAWE index wage increase.

Albertans should tell Premier Ed Stelmach, Finance Minister Iris Evans and Education Minister Dave Hancock to honour the deal and provide the promised funding to Alberta's public school boards.

The school boards offered AAWE wage settlements to non-teaching employees in negotiations more than a year ago. The workers accepted, agreeing to be tied to the index for several years. That means waiting 20 months for each annual cost-of-living increase and taking a chance on the Alberta economy.

When Statistics Canada calculates the AAWE based on 2009 wage increases/decreases, education support and services workers will receive that cost-of-living increase in September 2010.

Depending on the change in the AAWE index, these workers could easily receive no wage increase in 2010 and 2011, even though the provincial economy may be recovering by that time.

Albertans should be supporting these valuable partners in public education.

Gloria Lepine,
Edmonton