As many readers will know, educations support workers employed by 9 school districts in Alberta were on strike during the first quarter of 2025.
All of these workers were working off expired contracts. Most of them expired last year, but a few had been waiting longer than that.
These workers were on strike because after years of wage freezes and a sprinkling of tiny wage increases over the last decade, the school districts offered them a wage increase of only 10% spread out over 4 years.
This wasn’t even enough to make up for their cut to real wages, let alone the coming inflation increases during their new contract.
Last week, I wrote an article that discussed how 8 of those school districts were able to negotiate new increases, despite the Provincial Bargaining and Compensation Office insisting they had to stick with 10%.
Neither the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents all these workers, nor any of the school districts would publish what the actual increases were, however.
But that changed last Friday when workers from the ninth school district—Foothills School Division—voted 68% to approve their tentative agreement. This was the lowest approval result of all 9 districts.
That same day, CUPE Alberta finally released details on the new collective agreements; although, it was primarily just wage increases.
Here’s a summary of what these workers can expect over the next 4 years. Unless otherwise specified, these are 4-year collective agreements.
CUPE 40
Calgary Board of Education
| 1 September 2024 | 3.00% |
| 1 September 2025 | $1.25 or 3.00% |
| 1 September 2026 | 3.00% |
| 1 September 2027 | $1.25 or 3.00% |
This will result in a combined increase of between 12.55% and 17.81% over the course of the contract, which is definitely better than the 10% originally proposed.
However, these workers were dealing with a 15.81% real wage cut in their last contract. Their new contract will make up for that for some of the workers, but then there’ll be very little, if anything, left over to deal with inflation over the next 4 years. So, they’ll still be behind inflation, but less behind.
As well, workers classified as subforemen will see their pay rate moved to that of foremen.
CUPE 520
Calgary Catholic School District
| 1 September 2024 | 3.00% |
| 1 September 2025 | $1.25 or 3.00% |
| 1 September 2026 | 3.00% |
| 1 September 2027 | $1.25 or 3.00% |
Their combined increase will be 12.45–20.04%, a broader range than their fellow workers in Calgary public schools.
These workers got 3.75% in their last contract after 7 years of wage freezes, so they, too, will still be struggling to keep up with the increased cost of living, despite this being twice what was offered originally, at least for some of the workers.
Their health spending account has increase from $400 to $700 per year.
CUPE 2559
Fort McMurray Catholic School District
This is one of the exceptions to the 4-year term standard. The workers have been waiting for a new contract since their last one expired in August 2020!
The good news is they have a new contract. The bad news is that their contract comes with wage freezes.
| 1 September 2020 | 0.00% |
| 1 September 2021 | 0.00% |
| 1 September 2022 | 0.00% |
| 1 September 2023 | 1.25% |
| 1 February 2024 | 1.50% |
| 1 September 2024 | 3.00% |
| 1 September 2025 | $1.25 or 3.00% |
| 1 September 2026 | 3.00% |
| 1 September 2027 | $1.25 or 3.00% |
Over the course of the contract, these workers can expect to see a combined increase of anywhere from 16.1% to 27.9%, which averages out to 2.01–3.49% per year.
Inflation between September 2019 and September 2024 was 18.4%. So for some of these workers, they’re still seeing a real wage cut. And that’s not including inflation over the last 3 years of the contract, which is sure to come.
Currently, the Fort McMurray Catholic School District covers 80% of the workers’ premiums for their health benefits plan. By the end of the contract, they’ll be covering 100%.
CUPE 2545
Fort McMurray Public School Division
Like their fellow workers in the Catholic school system, these workers had been waiting for years for their new contract, but they didn’t have to wait quite as long as the others.
Their last contract expired in August 2021.
They got a similar contract as the public school workers in Fort Mac, except because it’s only a 7-year contract, they ended up with just two years of wage freezes instead of 3.
| 1 September 2021 | 0.00% |
| 1 September 2022 | 0.00% |
| 1 September 2023 | 1.25% |
| 1 February 2024 | 1.50% |
| 1 September 2024 | 3.00% |
| 1 September 2025 | $1.25 or 3.00% |
| 1 September 2026 | 3.00% |
| 1 September 2027 | $1.25 or 3.00% |
And the shorter contract comes with a smaller range of raises, resulting in a combined increase of 15.2–19.9% over the life of the contract.
Inflation between September 2020 and September 2024 was 16.70%, so we see that already some workers will be behind inflation by the end of the contract.
Plus, we still have inflation this year, next year, and the final year of the contract to anticipate, so those workers will see an even greater cut to real wages, and more of their fellow workers will end up behind inflation by the summer of 2028.
CUPE 3484
Black Gold School Division
| 1 September 2024 | 3.00% |
| 1 September 2025 | $1.25 or 3.00% |
| 1 September 2026 | 3.00% |
| 1 September 2027 | $1.25 or 3.00% |
For these workers, this will mean a combined increase of between 14.3% and 27.8%.
Over their last two contracts, these workers saw 3 wage freezes and a combined increase of just 4.25%. That means that some of these workers will end up with a cut to real wages still, although a smaller cut than they would’ve had at just 10%.
However, educational assistants will see a market adjustment of between 8% and 9.6%, which will help a lot. As well, workers classified as secretaries will be bumped up to the pay rate for head secretaries.
The workers will also be guaranteed at least 197 paid days and the health spending account will increase by $50 to $650.
CUPE 3550
Edmonton Public Schools
Like those in the Fort McMurray school divisions, education support workers employed by Edmonton Public Schools have been waiting for years for their new contract, which expired in August 2020.
| 1 September 2020 | 0.00% |
| 1 September 2021 | 0.00% |
| 1 September 2022 | 0.00% |
| 1 September 2023 | 1.25% |
| 1 February 2024 | 1.50% |
| 31 August 2024 | 0.50% |
| 1 September 2024 | 3.00% |
| 1 September 2025 | $1.25 or 3.00% |
| 1 September 2026 | 3.00% |
| 1 September 2027 | $1.25 or 3.00% |
Their combined increase will end up being anywhere from 16% to 20.87%, which is less than the Fort Mac workers who also ended up with an 8-year contract.
Remember, inflation between September 2019 and September 2024 was 18.4%, which means some of these workers will still see a real wage cut, with more to come as inflation over the next 3 year sets in.
However, the new contract removed the bottom two steps in the pay grid, so workers will get an automatic bump before the wage increases even come into effect, so that’ll help, too.
As well, workers who are certified will receive an hour bonus of 50¢ for Certification 1 and $1.00 for Certification 2.
CUPE 4625
Sturgeon School Division
Workers in this school division have also been waiting since August 2020 for a new contract, so they, too, will see wage freezes in the beginning of their contract.
| 1 September 2020 | 0.00% |
| 1 September 2021 | 0.00% |
| 1 September 2022 | 0.00% |
| 1 September 2023 | 0.00% |
| 1 February 2024 | 2.75% |
| 1 September 2024 | 3.00% |
| 1 September 2025 | $1.25 or 3.00% |
| 1 September 2026 | 3.00% |
| 1 September 2027 | $1.25 or 3.00% |
Oddly, these workers won’t see a wage increase retroactive to September 2023, unlike those also getting 8-year contracts in Edmonton and Fort McMurray.
Instead, this contract combined the September 2023 increase with the February 2024 and moves it to February. That means they lose out on 5 months of backpay, which sucks.
That being said, all workers will get a 3% market adjustment as of ratification, and the lowest step in the pay grid was eliminated, meaning everyone gets a pay bump before the wage increases come in.
The combined increase ends up being between 20.40% and 25.76%, which is a higher floor than all of the other contracts.
As well, their health spending account increases by $100.
CUPE 5040
Foothills School Division
| 1 September 2024 | 3.00% |
| 1 September 2025 | $1.25 or 3.00% |
| 1 September 2026 | 3.00% |
| 1 September 2027 | $1.25 or 3.00% |
The combined increase for these workers will range from 13.9% to 28.5%.
Secretaries will be automatically moved to level 2 one month after ratification, which is next month.
And workers will get an additional paid family sick day per year.
CUPE 5543
Parkland School Division
| 1 September 2024 | 3.00% |
| 1 September 2025 | $1.25 or 3.00% |
| 1 September 2026 | 3.00% |
| 1 September 2027 | $1.25 or 3.00% |
Finally, we have workers in the Parkland School Division, who will get both the lowest floor and the highest ceiling of the range in combined increases: 12.55% and 29.42%.
These workers had previously been with the Central Alberta Association of Municipal and School Employees. Before switching to CUPE last year, they hadn’t seen a wage increase since 2016. They signed a 1-year deal after the switch that gave them 2.75%, which was pathetic considering inflation was 25.01% since September 2016.
This increase won’t be enough to make up those 6 years of wage freezes and that tiny increase plus inflation during this new contract.
Educational assistants will get a market adjustment, as well, which will result in a combined increase by 2028 of 22–29%.
All the workers for this local will also get at least 200 paid days in the school year and a $400 vision plan.
2 replies on “Education workers get 12.55–29.42% raise”
[…] This is in line with what education workers in several school districts throughout Alberta received earlier this year after going on strike. […]
[…] which also represents education workers employed by Fort McMurray Catholic Schools, who recently ratified their newest collective agreement after going on strike for several […]