B.C. government says school support staff across the province reach tentative deal

VICTORIA – A tentative framework agreement has been reached for 40,000 unionized elementary and secondary support staff in British Columbia.

The Finance Ministry says the deal is between the Public School Employers' Association and school presidents' councils representing 57 locals of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

The tentative agreement covers workers in a variety of jobs in the public sector, including education assistants, custodians, maintenance workers and Indigenous support staff in the kindergarten-to-Grade 12 sector.

The ministry says the provincial framework represents one part of local agreements for staff and now negotiations at the district level will get underway.

The deal is part of the government's so-called shared recovery mandate, which applies to all public-sector employers with unionized employees whose collective agreements expire on or by Dec. 31.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees is the largest union representing support staff in the kindergarten-to-Grade 12 sector.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2022.

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Carli Berry

Carli Berry has been telling stories in the Okanagan for the past three years and after finding her footing in the newspaper industry, joined the Infonews team in January 2020. Recipient of the 2019 MA Murray award for feature writing, Carli is passionate about stories that involve housing, business and the environment. Born on Vancouver Island, she is happy to say Okanagan Lake reminds, her slightly, of the ocean. Carli can be reached at (250) 864-7494 or email cberry@infonews.ca.