Support workers at the public school division immediately north of Edmonton voted to go on strike.

The Sturgeon Public Schools Division’s 250 educational support workers at CUPE Local 4625, in a vote Friday that had a 93 percent turnout, voted 94 percent in favor of going on strike, the local said Tuesday. in a press release.

The Alberta Labor Relations Board confirmed the results, the local said, allowing it to give the school division 72 hours’ notice of a strike.

Kelly Salisbury, local president, said in the statement that the main problem for members is salaries, adding that they have “tolerated eight years of zeros,” indicating that they have not received a raise in that time.

“Students are our absolute top priority, but the inability to pay bills is impacting members at home, making work unsustainable,” Salisbury said.

CUPE Local 4625 membership includes educational assistants, cafeteria employees, office employees, library employees, therapy assistants, library technicians, cafeteria technicians, accounting clerks, vocational assistants, division administrative assistants, and licensed practical nurses .

The Sturgeon Public School Division, based 35 kilometers north of Edmonton in the town of Morinville, includes 18 schools attended by about 5,200 students in communities such as Bon Accord, Legal, Camilla, Namao, Gibbons and Redwater.

The vote result comes a week after the Alberta government stepped in to appoint a dispute investigation board to mediate an agreement between the Edmonton Public School Board (EPSB) and its local support workers, CUPE Local 3550.

The EPSB asked the Minister of Employment, Economy and Trade to create a board of inquiry, a neutral process carried out by a third party. Since it was established before the strike began, the venue cannot strike and employers cannot lock out employees until the investigation is concluded.

Part of the EPSB support staff left work on Thursday in a political protest against provincial wage mandates and what they called “interference in collective bargaining.”