CBE education support staff returning to work Friday after voting 92% in favour of deal

The lengthy strike involving education support workers across the province seems to coming to an end.

The Calgary Board of Education accepted its agreement as of 9 p.m. on Wednesday, voting 92 per cent in favour of the new deal.

The vote in favour means staff will be returning to work on Friday.

Meanwhile, Edmonton Public Schools staff are set to return to their schools Thursday after voting 93 per cent in favour of the agreement reached between the school division and union.

The specific details of the settlements have not been made public, but the union says they include pay increases and are valid through August 2028.

Education support workers at the Parkland School Division also ratified their settlement, with 97 per cent of members voting in favour. They too will return to school Thursday.

Earlier Wednesday, two Edmonton-area school divisions struck a tentative deal with striking education support workers.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) says it reached an agreement with the Black Gold School Division, which represents schools in Beaumont, Leduc, Calmar, Thorsby, New Sarepta and Warburg. If unionized workers ratify the deal in a vote Wednesday night, they would return to the classroom Thursday – putting an end to their strike that began Feb. 24. That deal was ratified as of 9 p.m. on Wednesday, with an 87 per cent vote in favour.

CUPE says an agreement was also reached with the Sturgeon School Division, which covers schools north of Edmonton, such as in St. Albert, Morinville or Gibbons. The roughly 200 education support workers there began a ratification vote Wednesday, with a result expected Thursday by mid-day. If the deal is ratified, they would return to work March 31 — after spring break.

CUPE also says a tentative agreement was reached Wednesday with the last Alberta school division still on the picket line: Foothills School Division in southern Alberta.