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April 28th – National Day of Mourning

Published April 30, 2023
Pictured from left: Darren Duff, Samantha Towler, Joanne Gill, and Brad Bauman raise the flag for the Worker's Day of Mourning on April 28, 2023

On Tuesday, April 25, 2023, Joanne Gill, our 3rd Vice-President for OH&S, addressed the Delta School Board:

Across Canada, April 28 has been designated the Day of Mourning. Each year, workers, families, employers, and communities across the province remember those who have lost their lives on the job, and we all renew our commitment to creating healthy and safe workplaces.  In 2022, 181 B.C. workers died from a workplace injury or disease. There were 74 fatalities due to traumatic injury and 107 fatalities due to occupational disease.  53 of these were the result of exposure to asbestos, with many exposures happening decades earlier.  The purpose of Day of Mourning is twofold – to remember and honour those who have lost their lives or been injured because of their work and to renew the commitment to prevent further deaths, injury, and diseases by improving health and safety in the workplace.

This year we will raise the CUPE Day of Mourning flag at the School Board office on the morning of April 28.  We will join others around the world to renew our resolve to demand healthier and safer workplaces as we remember and honour those who have been injured or killed on the job.

The International Labour Organization and the International Trade Union Congress declared the International Day of Mourning in 1996. Let us carry on the international cry to: “MOURN for the Dead and FIGHT for the Living!”

Recognizing excellence in B.C. schools

Published April 18, 2023
CUPE K-12 Banner

Nominations for the Premier’s Awards for Excellence in Education are open. These awards are a great opportunity to highlight and celebrate the vital role support staff play in delivering quality public education in the province. There are three specific awards that are particularly relevant to K-12 school support members.

Outstanding Support – School Community

This category is open to individuals who provide support in a broader school setting. School support workers are eligible for nomination, including bus drivers, crossing guards, student supervisors, Indigenous cultural facilitators, custodians, maintenance/trades, and clerical.

Outstanding Support – Teaching Assistant

This category is open to Educational Assistants (including Indigenous Education Support Workers and Indigenous Youth Workers) who provide support within a classroom setting.

For these awards recognizing outstanding support, nominees will have:

  • Contributed to a healthy, safe and productive school community by creating inclusive, connected and engaging experiences for students, parents and the community.
  • Created an exciting and engaging environment for individual students or a group of students through innovative techniques.
  • Built strong collaborative relationships with other education professionals to support a student or group of students, in the school or community.
  • Supported students in their intellectual, human and social, or career development through individualized support and encouragement.

Outstanding Team Collaboration

This category is open to a team of at least three members (one of whom must hold a valid B.C. teaching certificate).  Criteria for nominees include:

  • Team members have collaborated on an exceptional initiative that has positively impacted student learning.
  • The success of the initiative is a result of a true collaboration among team members, not simply a collection of individual accomplishments.
  • The initiative addresses student needs.
  • The endeavors undertaken go above and beyond regular work or involve innovative approaches to curricular programming.

The Premier’s Awards for Excellence in Education (PAEE) were created to recognize the exceptional contributions of B.C.’s teachers, administrators and support staff that are vital to the cultural, economic and social well-being of the province. The PAEE provide students, parents, teachers and other members of the community with an opportunity to celebrate those who make a real difference in B.C. schools.

This year, three award recipients will be chosen for each of the ten categories below. Each recipient will receive a taxable personal bursary for professional learning and a contribution to their school community for professional learning.

Information on how to nominate a school support worker for one of these awards can be found on the B.C. government website.

Nominations for the 2023 Premier’s Awards for Excellence in Education will be accepted until May 5th. Nominations need to have the support of a superintendent or designate.

View PDF here.

Bulletin – 6.75% wage increases starting July 1

Published March 23, 2023

New inflation figures released this week confirm that the maximum wage protections in our K-12 Provincial Framework Agreement will be triggered, and members will receive the full 6.75 percent wage increase starting July 1, 2023. This brings the total general wage increases for the first two years of the agreement to well over 10 percent for most members.

BCPSEA will be providing school districts with updated wage grids as soon as possible. Wage grids will also be sent to locals to share with their membership.

The Provincial Framework Agreement also includes a cost-of-living wage protection for July 1, 2024. We expect to have information on this increase this time next year.