During the regular monthly meeting of the South East Cornerstone board of education on Dec. 21, the board agreed in principle to a three-year agreement with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 299, that will see a three-per-cent raise over the term of the agreement. SEIU members have also approved the tentative agreement.

Director of Education, Don Rempel, said that the agreement was "significant due to two main things."

The first point is the board now recognizes the SEIU as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for the three former bargaining units, including the following:

· all employees of the South East Cornerstone School Division No. 209, formerly falling under the Prairie View School Division No. 74, except administrators, teachers, janitors and bus drivers;

· all employees of the South East Cornerstone School Division No. 209, employed as special education tutor, library aide, school aide, kitchen helper, head caretaker, afternoon supervisor, school secretary and fireman-caretaker, formerly falling under the Board of Education of the Sunrise School Division No. 145;

· all employees of the South East Cornerstone School Division No. 209, employed as a special education tutor, library aide, school aide, kitchen helper, head caretaker, afternoon supervisor, fireman-caretaker, and school clericals, formerly falling under the jurisdiction of the board of Weyburn Comprehensive School.

Rempel detailed that "instead of making agreements with three different groups, the board will now be dealing with one group that represents all the union members from those previous bargaining units."

The other significant point was that there will be an effective total payroll changes of three per cent for 2006, 2007 and 2008, covering the agreement period of Jan. 1, 2006, to Dec. 31, 2008.

"There will be a lot of employees who will see an increase of wages, as we apply the same pay scale to further our goals of equity throughout the school division," said Rempel.