Laura Walton, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees’ Ontario School Board of Unions, said if workers continue to protest after Friday “they will be left to what happens.” “I’m so proud because our members said, ‘Enough is enough,’” Walton said. The Ontario government introduced legislation Monday to force a contract on CUPE education workers — including librarians, custodians and early childhood teachers — and prevent a strike that was set to begin Friday. CUPE said it would explore every avenue to fight the bill, but the government said it intended to use the nullity clause to keep the potential law in place despite constitutional challenges. The clause allows the legislature to override parts of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for a five-year term. Story continues below ad

		Read more: Ford government to table legislation to enforce union contract in education sector 		
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			The Ford government will introduce legislation to enforce a contract in the education sector

“We want to make sure that there are no issues, litigation or otherwise, that could actually put these kids back out of the classroom because of strikes at the local or provincial level,” said Education Minister Steven Lecce. “This proposal, this legislation, provides absolute stability to children as far as we can control it and ensures that they remain in the classroom, that nothing, absolutely nothing now or in the future could interfere with a child’s right to be in class. “ The government offered raises of two percent a year for workers earning less than $40,000 and 1.25 percent for everyone else. Lecce said the new, four-year deal would give 2.5 percent annual raises to workers making less than $43,000 and 1.5 percent to everyone else. CUPE said its workers, who make an average of $39,000 a year, are generally the lowest paid in schools and is seeking annual wage increases of 11.7 percent.

		Read more: Ontario could face hundreds of millions in fines if education workers strike Friday

CUPE Ontario president Fred Hahn said workers are on a legal strike starting this Thursday and will take a stand on public education. Story continues below ad “If this bill is passed before Friday, it doesn’t matter. If they say it is illegal to strike, then we will be in political protest,” he said. Hahn said education workers were, a decade ago, subject to mandated wage freezes and back-to-work legislation from the then-Liberal government, and more recently legislation from the Ford government that limited pay increases for public sector workers to 1 percent. one year. “We may actually challenge this in court, but we will challenge it in our communities first. We are not going to allow our rights to be legislated. We are not just going to stand by and accept this government’s attempt to intimidate our members,” he said. At least three Ontario school boards previously said they would close schools if support staff were to withdraw their services entirely, though the largest, the Toronto District School Board, said families should be “prepared for all eventualities ». Current trend

			The Ford government will introduce legislation to enforce a contract in the education sector 	   				Canadian among injured in Halloween outbreak that killed more than 150 in South Korea

Lecce said he was “sad” to hear that CUPE was planning to leave anyway. 1:59CUPE serves province with strike notice for Ontario teachers “It’s certainly our intention that children go to school, we’re going to pass a law and obviously, I don’t think there’s a parent in this province who would support children staying home for even one day of a strike,” he said. . Story continues below ad The legislation sets fines for violating a strike ban for the duration of the agreement of up to $4,000 per worker per day, with fines of up to $500,000 for the union. Walton said the union would foot the bill for any such fines. David Doorey, a York University professor specializing in labor and employment law, said there has only been one other Canadian use of the clause in back-to-work legislation — in Saskatchewan in the 1980s — but the law has changed dramatically. since then. “Today, the Charter protects the right to collective bargaining and to strike,” he said. “As a result, the Ontario government is requiring the non-applicability clause to protect itself from a lawsuit … Almost certainly, the new law to keep students in the classroom would violate the Charter rights of education workers.” NOTE: The Ford administration will force the legislature to reconvene at 5 am tomorrow to pass this legislation. https://t.co/c3IxR1jLbl — Colin D’Mello | World News (@ColinDMello) October 31, 2022 Story continues below ad Noah Mendelson Aviv, executive director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Union, said the illegal clause was never intended to be used in contract negotiations. “This abuse and blatant disregard for individual rights is wrong and dangerous to our constitutional democracy,” she said in a statement. The four major teachers’ unions are also in the midst of contract negotiations with the government, and the Ontario Federation of Elementary Teachers said Monday it walked away from the table for the day in support of CUPE. “We strongly condemn the Ford government’s imposition of a discount contract on some of the lowest-paid education professionals working in Ontario’s schools,” ETFO president Karen Brown wrote in a statement. The average CUPE employee makes $26.69 an hour. There are huge differences in workers’ wages, even in the same job category, because of the number of hours worked in a week — some workers work 40, others 35, while some work less than that — differences in boards of directors, as well as Some employees are paid for 12 months a year, while others are laid off for the summers.

		Read more: ‘Full walkout’: Ontario education workers could go on strike on November 4

The Ontario Federation of Secondary Education Teachers said it stands in solidarity with CUPE members against the “undermining” of their collective bargaining rights. The union said its focus remains on making progress at the bargaining table in its own negotiations. Story continues below ad House Leader Paul Calandra said the legislature would meet Tuesday at 5 a.m. in order to speed up passage of the legislation. CUPE and the government had made little progress at the negotiating table in recent months apart from agreeing to standardize bereavement leave. They had a wide pay gap, with CUPE saying an extra $3.25 an hour would help low-paid teachers catch up after years of wage freezes and restraints, as well as high inflation. Lecce had framed their proposals as a 50 percent increase in compensation, which combined demands for wages, overtime, preparation time, an extra work week and professional development.