Albertans support higher pay for education workers according to survey

A recent survey shows that the majority of Albertans believe education workers deserve to be paid more.

According to a survey done by Environics Research on behalf of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), there is broad support for educators who go on strike.

1,002 Albertans were surveyed by Environics Research. The survey was completed online between January 9 and 22.

Here are the questions that were asked in the survey and how they were answered:

• Education workers in Alberta are underpaid and deserve wage increases. Agree - 74 per cent, disagree - 16 per cent and unsure - 10 per cent.
• The Alberta UCP government is right to impose a wage cap that prevents school divisions from giving education workers a raise. They need to keep a lid on spending. Agree - 27 per cent, disagree 61 per cent and unsure - 13 per cent.
•  If wages for education workers are kept this low, we won’t be able to attract or retain the people we need in our understaffed education system. Agree 77 per cent, disagree - 16 per cent and unsure - 7 per cent.
•  If we keep underpaying education support workers eventually we get what we pay for and students will suffer. Agree - 79 per cent, disagree 16 per cent and unsure 6 per cent.
• Decent pay and working conditions for education workers are key to having a higher-quality education system for our kids. Agree 81 per cent, 12 disagree and 6 per cent unsure.
•  If there were to be a job action by education workers in Alberta against the UCP government, whose side would you be on? Totally/mostly on the side of the education workers - 68 per cent, Totally/mostly on the side of the UCP government - 15 percent and unsure - 17 per cent.

Over 4,000 education support workers are on strike in Fort McMurray and in the Edmonton region. Five more groups are taking steps toward going on strike including one affecting some Airdrie schools (not Rocky View Schools educators). 

The CUPE Local 520 gave a 72-hour notice of strike to the Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) on February 19. St. Martin de Porres High School, St. Veronica School, Our Lady Queen of Peace, Good Shepherd School, and other local Catholic schools in Airdrie may be affected if the strike is to occur.

 Approximately 350 CCSD CUPE employees are affected. CUPE members include custodial staff, cleaners, plumbers, tradespeople and boiler operators. All CCSD schools will remain open during any job action. CCSD has a contingency plan in place to maintain safety and cleanliness in all of their schools.

Back in February 2024, the Rocky View Schools Board of Trustees announced that they had reached an agreement with the Alberta Teachers Association (ATA) Local #35 to prevent a potential teachers' strike. 

This agreement comes after teachers in the Rocky View School District voted 99.6 per cent in favour of a government-supervised strike vote back in November 2023. 

The Board of Trustees' agreement marked the end of the bargaining process, which had seen the teachers in Rocky View working without any form of finalized agreement since September 2020. 

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