The union representing support workers in Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools is expressing concerns over reduced hours for “a large portion of its Education Assistants.”
CUPE 606 President Jeff Virtanen says that “this has been an issue for years” and NLPS refuses to address it.
He adds that there is already a recruitment and retention problem for their EAs and many are already working two or three jobs “because this employer refuses to invest in them.”
The cuts will affect around 125 EAs says CUPE 606.
“There’s a massive disconnect between certain senior managers and the reality of what our workers and students need,” said Virtanen.
CUPE 606 released a statement stating that the NLPS Trustees and Finance Department told the district’s Business Committee they plan to invest around $300,000 in EAs.
To Virtanen it doesn’t make sense. “They want to invest in EAs while at the same time cutting their hours? Our EAs work too hard with too few hours to be treated like this.”
In a statement to Icon News NLPS says that funds have not yet been allocated and they remain committed to “working with CUPE to agree on a method to allocate the funds currently available for the additional EA hour for the 2024/2025 school year”
NLPS adds that the matter relates to a Letter of Understanding that sets out annual funding for EAs.
