North East School Division has reached a tentative agreement with the union representing more than 300 education support workers in the division.
CUPE 4875 announced on Monday, Feb. 12 that they had reached an agreement with the NESD. CUPE 4875 president Debbie Dufault said the agreement addresses the needs of both parties, while also supporting continued success of northeast schools.
“This agreement recognizes the essential contributions of education support workers and moves us closer to pay equity with other school divisions,” Debbie Dufault, president of CUPE 4875 said in a news release.
“We look forward to working together with the North East School Division to build a bright future for our students.”
Key highlights of the agreement include wage increases of three per cent, 3.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent over three years.
NESD Superintendent and Human Resources and Privacy Officer Heather Shwetz said they were glad to have negotiations behind them.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement with CUPE 4875 that acknowledges the invaluable contributions of education support workers of the North East School Division,” Shwetz said in a press release. “This agreement reflects our shared commitment to fostering a supportive and equitable workplace environment.”
CUPE members voted in favour of the tentative agreement on Feb. 1.
According to CUPE, it is expected that the school division will ratify the agreement at their Board meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 13.
Moving forward, both CUPE 4875 and the North East School Division are committed to open communication, mutual respect and ongoing collaboration to support the well-being of employees and the advancement of shared goals, reads the press release.
CUPE and NESD began working with a mediator in Man 2023 to resolve outstanding issues. After those efforts proved unsuccessful, union members voted in favour of job action in December.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
