“After spring break, I had a conversation with the ministry,” Rose said. “And they said, `Look, we have a mandate [from the province to freeze wages]. We cannot break that mandate. CupE 737 members have been working without a new collective agreement since 2018. The union, which represents 600 employees at the school, is trying to stimulate new negotiations. This was crippled by the province, which urged the school department to freeze wages and compensation for two years, Rose said. The Province has repeatedly argued that the establishment of mandates during collective bargaining is entirely within the rights of the government. Members of the Southwestern Manitoba Division voted 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate, the Provincial Association of the Canadian Union of Public Employees announced Thursday. The union is demanding salary increases in line with many recent teachers` contracts – a salary increase of 1.6% for the 2018-2019 school year, 1.4% for the following year, 0.5% for the current school year and an increase in the cost of living for the next school year. Faculty have not had a new contract since 2018, due to Pallister`s unconstitutional interference in collective bargaining. Support staff are demanding salary increases in line with recent teachers` contracts.

If you have questions about your rights at work, the best person to talk to is your steward or local leader. You will know the specific details of your agreement. Several other school departments have made new arrangements with their assistants, most of which include salary increases. Earlier this year, CUPE asked 737 to negotiate a new collective agreement. Rose said support staff are frustrated, other bargaining groups, including teachers, have reached a new collective agreement — but not her own. If you would like a hard copy of your collective agreement, please speak to your steward. If you don`t know who your steward is or how to get to your home, contact your local CUPE office. NDP Opposition Leader Wab Kinew said a strong strike mandate is a sign for those who will come if the Progressive Conservative government passes Bill 64, the education reform bill that will centralize decision-making for public schools with the government. All CUPE members work under the protection of a contract called a collective agreement. Your local negotiates the terms of the agreement. Elected local union leaders also work with the employer to resolve issues in the workplace.

CUPE 737 held only one bargaining session with the school department this year, said President Jamie Rose. “Staff take these voices seriously, and 99% support for a strike mandate shows us that faculty feel disrespectful, undervalued and deserve support,” Rose said. The strike mandate also comes as the Pallister government announced $146 million in education property tax refunds, which have been widely criticized for taking much-needed money out of the school system. The vote does not mean that a strike is imminent, but it gives the union the opportunity to call a strike if necessary. Given the court`s decision, the union believed its bargaining efforts would no longer be hampered by calls for a wage freeze, Rose said. But the province says a wage freeze is still needed because of the pandemic. “We want to talk to them and work as we normally do. That is our end goal. A strike committee has been set up, no date has been set for a strike. “No one wants to strike, but . If they push us there, then we have to do it.

Asked about the strike vote, Education Secretary Cliff Cullen said the province would leave negotiations to the employer and its employees. “School staff have played a vital role throughout the pandemic in helping our children succeed,” said Jamie Rose, President of CUPE 737, who represents support staff at the Brandon School Division. “This year has been incredibly difficult for employees, but the department still adheres to the Pallister government`s unconstitutional salary mandate.” “It`s intimidating. that one group would be taken care of and another group would not. The Brandon School Division did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday night. The provincial government has tried to impose this mandate on a number of public sector workers, even after a court declared Manitoba`s pressure to freeze public sector wages unconstitutional last year. Brandon School Division support staff held a strike vote to convince their employer to bargain. .