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HB NEWS WE NEED MORE HELP’ PROPOSED WAGE INCREASE NOT ENOUGH, SAYS EDUCATION SUPPORT WORKER REETI ROHILLA rrohilla@metroland.com Halton education sup- contract negotiations. The average school board support worker earns $89,000 annually, with the proposal offering an in- crease of 33 cents to 53 cents per hour, according to a CUPE news release. The previous contract introduced in 2019 — sub- ject to legislation known as Bill 124 — offered an in- crease of 1 percent a year for port Risen says the province's wage increase Ente omoueh to make ends meet Blankstein who' worked for the Halton Cath- olic District School Board (HCDSB) for over a decade, said, "I'm appreciative ofmy job. But we need more help and support from the gov- ernment." The province proposed a a two-per-cent yearly wag increase for education sup cup. port staff — in Halton Hills, and across Ontario — mak- ing less than $40,000 a year, and a 125 per cent raise to e making m¢ hae year deal tabled ‘Aug. An education support worker is anyone em} teachers and management, which overs a wide range of po: vert 700 OSBCU-CUPE members in Halton alone are impacted by the ongoing workers. “ALL education to 2021 has totalled 19.5 per cent, there has only been an 8.8 per centincrease in wage settlements over the de- cade, said Laura Walton, president of (OSBCU) for the Canadian Unione - Pub- lic Employees (CUP] Walton, me 've al- ready taken a 10.7 per cent wage cut and we take a wage cut again." For Blankstein — a 32- year-old financial clerk at the HCDSB's Burlington of- fice who earns approxi- mately $50.0 000 a year — an increase of 1.25 per beri would am over $600 annually. hat ‘sa little less than a tank of gas per month. Pointing workers’ wages over the past decade and how infla- tion is expected to keep ris- ing, OSBCU, which repre- to restricted z= Graham Paine/Metroland Danielle Blankstein says the proposed wage increase for education support workers is insufficient. seeking the equivalent of a 52 per cent raise, “which is the equivalent of the entire ministry of colleges and iniversities budget — it is the entire budget of the province of Saskatchewan. This is a massive ii id, "Housing should cost 30 per cent of your income. Where on a wage scale that I'm making, could I even find a one-bed- room apartment for 30 per cent of my wage?" She add- ed, "I've gone to college and Tm: going to university toget job. But it enol . OSBCU is calling for a strike vote as a ‘demonstra- tion of workers' resolve to achieve "reasonable, neces- sary, and affordable propos- als for i improving working CUPE website. Lecce recently told the “I've gone to college and I'm going to university to get a higher paying job. But these higher paying jobs aren't paying enough.” ~ Danielle Blankstein sents 55,000 CUPE eine tion workers, is s annual wage increases of 1.7 per cent — or $3.25 per hour. At Queen's Park, Ontario Education Minister Ste- phen Lecce said the union is FOWN DOWNTOWN GEORGET 83 Mill St | 905 873 1867 Day, Evening and Saturday Hours | Same day appointments for urgent eye care. Please phone. Dr. Ben Giddens g GIDDENS OPTOMETRY FAMILY EYE CARE SERVICES We are open but due to the current virus situation we have to limit the number of people an appointment time for you. This will prevent overcrowding and keep everyone safe! Dr. Andrea Kozma METRO PLAZA 371 Mountainview Rd S |905 873 1861 OPTOME = = oe" re Dental Surgery is) Dr. Brandon. Pham Sleep Dentistry. demic, and the one obliga. tion we have is to stay at the table and work together to get a deal." He added he was surprised at the move, given all sides have reported that talks to date "are actually quite fruitful .. and yet they're now on a potential path to strike in early Sep- tember, when we know chil- dren should be in school.” Lecce asked union lead- ers to "rescind this action" immediately. MARKETPLACE DENTAL 280 Guelph St (in Georgetown Market Place) 905-877-CARE (ra) pend georgetowndental. com 994 Blankstein said she has always worked two jobs to support her family. She is currently looking into addi- tional employment in case the union implements ~ a Fy 3 a v i Zz strike. = "I don't wanta strike, but 2 ? I can't afford not to,” she 4 said 2 While working in the clerical department has al- lowed Blankstein some ad- vancements in her she said government wage } increases are often the only increment employees rely Zz0z ‘8 sequejdag ‘Ae on. Adopting OSBCU's pro- posal will help solve the school board's Problem of employees, as oval as in- creasing services and fund- ing for children and their education, said Watson. Strike votes for OSBCU members across Ontari are ongoing from Sept. 23 to Oct. 2. — with files from the Toroi STORY BEHIND THE STORY: With contract nego- tiations ongoing between the provincial government and the Ontario School Boards Council of Unions over education workers' wages, we wanted to gauge local reaction to the pro- posed increase. SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT THEIFP.CA New Patients and Emergencies Welcome! Dental Implants Family and Cosmetic Dentistry Invisalign