Unions Demand Government Reverse Decision to Lay Off Education WorkersCanadian Union of Provincial Employees (CUPE) Alberta President Rory Gill estimates that up to 20,000 employees could lose their employment as a result of the announcement that the provincial government is withdrawing funding for substitute teachers and support staff, including educational assistants, to all Alberta school boards during the last two months of the 2019-2020 school year. Gill called the move heartless and thoughtless. "With a surprise announcement, lacking in detail, on a Saturday afternoon, the Kenney government has just fired thousands of people who look after and educate our kids," he said. Gill pointed out that educational assistants [EAs] may have to seek employment elsewhere. "You can't just fire thousands of educational assistants and expect them to all run back to the system in the fall," said Gill. "This is a recipe for a massive brain drain."
Alberta Teachers' Association President Jason Schilling pointed out: "Education assistants and other staff that work in schools are really key right now because they are providing support to students and teachers, and ultimately parents, with the delivery of education. We have a bunch of kids out there who don't have access to technology and so assistants and other school staff are providing support with those students," he said. John Vradenburgh, President of CUPE Local 474 which represents custodial support staff at Edmonton Public Schools told Workers' Forum, "We don't know specifics for our staff group as of today. The government does understand that it would be prudent to have support staff assist with a new and untested method of remote delivery of education, yet, under the cloak of a pandemic, they are furthering their overall plan to dismantle public services. For today, that's in the education sector. With 15 minutes notice to education boards, and in a press release to the public on a Saturday, this government has shown how little regard they have for working people and our public education system. Any economist will state that people working is what drives the economy. We've heard reports of $128 million cuts across the province, this represents less than a quarter of a percent of the Alberta government's yearly expenditures, yet will so profoundly effect so many people. In a pandemic." Vradenburgh pointed out that the government has missed an opportunity to provide a more thorough cleaning of the schools than has been done in a long time, and that in any case a pandemic response will require more time to clean the schools, not less. Wilma Ellenburgh, President of Unifor Local 52A which represents educational support staff for Edmonton Catholic Schools told Workers' Forum, "This decision by the Kenney government to pull funding shows that there was no reflection on the impact to students, families, and the Albertans who support them. Educational assistants [EAs] would have continued to work until the end of the school year, so that children with special needs would be able to continue their school, as other kids are doing.
Alberta Teachers' Association President Jason Schilling said, "The Alberta government has missed an opportunity to show leadership in a crisis by ensuring that thousands of Albertans have continuity of income at this very stressful time." He said that as well as an estimated 20,000 support staff, up to 6,000 substitute teachers would be affected. "Today's announcement is very concerning. Teachers and educational assistants work closely together to facilitate student learning," Schilling said. "Their work was still being utilized to support students in need of accommodations and those with inadequate access to technology. We continue to have concerns about how students with special needs will be supported through this time -- many parents are struggling and need as much help as possible." Schilling pointed out that many substitute teachers work nearly full-time. Edmonton Public School Board Trustee Bridget Sterling tweeted to Education Minister LaGrange: "This is incredibly cruel. The federal government has directed employers to keep people working whenever possible. Even your government has asked the same. And yet you are putting thousands of workers onto aid programs at a time when they need their government the most."
This article was published in Article Link:   Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca |
Since
March 13 when schools were closed, support staff
have been active in
providing support for students, assisting with
the many administrative
tasks associated with the sudden decision to
close schools, as well as
connecting with students with whom they have
built relationships over
the course of the school year as well as years
past in
some cases.
"Two
weeks ago we were prepared to have members work
until the end of June
as per the advisement of the Education Minister.
I was asked to form an 