Support Staff Strike:

October 1, 2012

At a special public Board meeting tonight, the Board ratified the Memorandum of Agreement for members of ECSSA. This follows a vote by ECSSA earlier today where 583 voted in favour and 142 voted against the agreement.

The ratification ends the 16 day strike and ECSSA employees will return to work Tuesday morning. The final proposal includes a 4.54% increase that is retroactive to September 1, 2011. The agreement also includes a one-time $600 lump sum payment and a clause that ECSSA members will receive the same increase as AUPE or ATA on the first day following the end of the contract (August 31, 2013). In addition, the agreement addresses job security and secretary workload.

Memorandum of Agreement Reached - September 28th

Edmonton Catholic Schools is pleased to announce the parties have reached a memorandum of agreement. This agreement represents a tentative agreement between the District and ECSSA.  Both the union and ECSD have agreed to support and recommend the terms of settlement.  

The memorandum of agreement addresses all issues the union brought forward:
•             secretarial workload
•             job security
•             wages in the second year of the contract

A ratification vote will be held as early as Monday, October 1st.  We hope to have the employees back to work as early as Tuesday, October 2nd.

We look forward to our school family being complete once again. 

Strike Update - September 28th, 2012

• Over 35 of 40 high priority severe special needs students are back in school.  For a few parents, they have made the decision to keep their child at home.
• We will be meeting Friday afternoon with the Union Negotiating Committee as it’s important that we continue to try and reach a settlement
• Both sides have one goal and that is to get everyone back in the schools
• The schools are coping the best they can; it’s not ideal as these are valuable employees.

A Message Regarding Pay for Support Staff Employees - September 26, 2012

• Pay from August 30 – September 07, 2012 is included for all staff members.  For those staff members who returned to work prior to Friday, September 21, any days worked between September 10 and September 21 are included in this pay period.  If you returned to work after payroll cut off of September 21, this pay will be included in your October cheque.
  
  
• Pension contributions are paid in full for the month of September.  ECSSA/CEP has agreed to pay the employer’s portion of the pension between September 13 and 30 for striking members.
  
  
• Deductions have been made for the employee’s portion of pension contributions for the full month of September.  Some employees will see a significant reduction in their pay, depending on the FTE.
  
  
• Extended health care benefits are paid in full.  ECSSA/CEP has agreed to pay benefits for September 13 – 30 for striking members.  For those staff who returned to work after September 12, benefits have been paid by Edmonton Catholic Schools.

Message from Joan Carr, Superintendent - September 18, 2012

You may have been hearing a lot of rumors that you could be disciplined or fined for returning to work prior to the strike ending. Here are some facts regarding returning to work at your site:

• You are welcome to return to work at any time.
• Please know that you are missed and valued as a member of our Edmonton Catholic Schools’ family.
• We know the Union does not want you to return to work but they cannot stop you.
• Can the Union make you pay a fine? No…the courts in Alberta have clearly told unions that this is not possible.
• Can the Union take away any of your benefits? No….these are paid to you by the District not the Union. Your benefits are secure.
• Can the Union take away your retirement bonus? No…this is part of your collective agreement and the District will pay your retirement bonus.
• The District will take the position in all future negotiations that anyone crossing the picket line will not be disciplined by the union as a part of a final resolution of this strike.
• After this strike is over we look forward to all staff members working together. We support a respectful workplace. It is the District's expectation that all employees are entitled to a workplace free of harassment. Any employees who are found to have harassed another employee for any reason, including crossing a picket line, will be disciplined by the District.

At the conclusion of this strike, we will all work together again. It is our position that as much as we respect the decision of some staff to be on strike, the same respect should be given to those employees who want or need to return to work.

If you want to return to work, the District welcomes you back and will support you in that decision.

Outcome of meeting with both Negotiating Committees on September 17, 2012

Information on Day 6 of the ECSSA Strike Monday, September 17, 2012

Edmonton Catholic Schools is extremely proud of the work each of our employees has done for the past 124 years.  It is through team work that we have become strong in serving the needs of our 35,000 plus students.  

As a District we want to ensure that all information is being received by support staff. We have heard the concerns of our support staff and attempted to resolve them. We hope that by posting this information on our website that all of our staff will be better informed.

Workload

The Union Negotiating Committee has told us that secretary workload is an issue.  A letter of intent was presented as part of a proposal to review and consider school secretary concerns with their workload. 

Job Security

On Sunday, September 9th (the day before the strike began), the District Negotiating Committee offered a solution to job security. Even though it used the exact wording requested by the Union Negotiating Committee, this was not deemed sufficient by the Union Negotiating Committee to hear the voice of support staff on this offer.

Compensation

• .5 percent of the annual income of our support staff is lost each day of the strike.
• Nine days of strike action means a loss of 4.5 percent of the annual income of our support staff.

Did you know that support staff have received a 20.19 percent increase from August 2006 to August 2010?  The proposed offer of 4.54 percent for August 2011 would mean a total increase of 24.73 percent from August 2006 to August 2011.

Collective Agreement Increases
August 2006 – August 2011

• In fairness to all of our staff we chose to provide wage increases that we did not receive funding for.
• We cannot provide wage increases that are more than the funding we receive.

As a District we believe we have listened, we have responded and looked at creative solutions. Our support staff are part of our school family and we want them back at work.

Important Facts About Support Staff Compensation - September 13th

September 13th, 2012 - Click here to view the Important Facts (PDF)

The Strike continues as Support staff reject the District’s Contract Offer.

September 12th, 2012 - Contract is rejected:
A total of 760 support staff were eligible to vote either Tuesday or Wednesday at four sites each day. 546 employees rejected the contract offer while 211 voted in favour of the offer. 

ECSSA Rejects Contract Offer - View News Release

September 7th, 2012 - Information regarding the Support Staff Strike

Letter to parents from our Superintendent
Notice of Vote
Agreed to Items 1
Agreed to Items 2
Information for Support Staff