Violence towards Winnipeg School Division support staff has jumped 188 per cent, according to a new report that shows incidents have more than doubled in three years.
The union that represents them says more supports are needed to keep workers safe.
“Just having more staff, being able to be supported more. And consistency: many of these students need these extra supports, they build a rapport up with the same EA every day and most days, and when there’s changes or there’s different needs and it gets shifted around, it makes it a lot harder for those students,” said Kyle Ross, MGEU President.
According to the report, there were 932 student-related aggression incidents toward support staff by students with additional needs last school year. That’s compared to 650 incidents the year before and 333 the year before that.
“It’s just really frustrating to see these numbers when we asked the division for this information. And to see they’re going in the wrong way, it’s really creating a bad environment for these workers,” said Ross.
CityNews reached out to the Winnipeg School Division for comment, we did not hear back.
Ross says the school division and the union need to work toward a solution to make sure Winnipeg’s schools stay safe for everyone.
“I look forward to working with them to try to resolve this,” he said. “I think we all have to play a part in solving this issue. It’s a real problem.”
St. John’s High School in Winnipeg. (Credit: Google Maps)
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