Education workers across the province are supporting strike action to back contract demands with the province and school boards.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees says 96.5 per cent of employees gave their union the strike mandate.
President of CUPE’s Ontario School Board Council of Unions, Laura Walton says an overwhelming 82 per cent of their members voted.
“This vote is about education workers throughout Ontario showing the Ford government that we stand behind our excellent proposals and we will continue to stand behind them,” says Walton.
Wages and staffing levels are among the key issues, including;
- enough educational assistants so all students would get the supports they need and so schools could stop sending kids home because there isn’t an EA available
- an early childhood educator in every kindergarten classroom so every four- and five-year-old would get the play-based learning support that’s especially necessary now after two years of pandemic isolation
- enough library workers to make sure school libraries are open and reading opportunities are available to kids all the time
- enough custodians to keep schools clean and enough maintenance workers and tradespeople to begin to tackle the $16 billion repair backlog
- adequate staffing of secretaries in school offices and enough lunchroom supervisors to keep students safe
The union is also asking for a wage increase of $3.25. Walton says the government is offering 33 cents.
Negotiations between the two sides are to resume Thursday.
Walton is hoping that it doesn’t come down to a strike.
“We don’t want to go without that pay just to get a good deal for students, parents and each other, but education workers have said very clearly if this government will not budge. We are willing to strike for a contract that is good for students, for families and for workers,” says Walton.
No strike date has been set.
Walton says a no-board report must first be filed if contract talks don’t come to an agreement.
“We have not filed a no board at this point. We would have to do that. We would have to expire the 17-day waiting. There is a five-day waiting period where we would need to notify the public as per our collective bargaining act. So, we are still multiple weeks away from anything happening.”
Ontario’s Education Minister is expressing his disappointment with the workers’ vote.
“While these results are not surprising given that education unions have voted to hold strikes against families for nearly five decades, we are still extremely disappointed with the results. CUPE is charging ahead with a strike while demanding nearly 50 per cent in increased compensation after two difficult years of pandemic disruptions for students,” says Lecce in a statement.
Lecce adds the offer from the government is reasonable.
He says provincial negotiators will remain at the table to make sure there is no disruption to the school year.
Education workers last contract expired at the start of this school year.
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