72-hour strike notice served by Fort McMurray education support workers [Video]

Education support workers in Fort McMurray, Alta., could walk off the job as early as Wednesday, after issuing a 72-hour  strike notice Friday to the public and Catholic school divisions.

The latest move stems from nine months of contract negotiations and forced mediation by the province, which was unsuccessful.

On Sept. 17, both CUPE 2554 and CUPE 2559 issued a strike notice. However, the provincial government intervened and appointed them to two dispute inquiry boards.

During that process, CUPE President 2554 Lynn Fleet said the two sides still couldn’t come to an agreement.

“We rejected the recommendations from the [Dispute Inquiry Board]. They weren’t offering us anything of substance,” Fleet told Global News. “We did do another strike vote. The public board was 99.1-per cent in favour of a strike.”

CUPE 2554 represents educational assistants, librarians, custodians, and other support staff at the public division. CUPE 2559 represents those roles working at the Catholic division.

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