The ongoing education negotiations are ending as the provincial government and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) have reached a tentative agreement. The union planned a general strike for all its 55,000 education workers on November 21, but an accord was reached the day before.
“There will be no job action tomorrow (November 21)”, the union’s bargaining team said in a Tweet. “Our members will be reporting to schools to continue supporting the students that we are proud to work with.”
The four-year agreement includes an annual raise of $1 per hour, or about 3.59 percent. CUPE was also looking for $100 million in guarantees of higher staffing levels for educational assistants, librarians, custodians and secretaries, as well as an early childhood educator in every kindergarten classroom, but members voted to forgo those demands in favor of bringing negotiations to a close.
