Negotiations were scheduled to resume Tuesday, but were postponed after the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) gave the required five-day notice of a job action. The move puts 55,000 workers – including teaching assistants, custodians and early childhood educators – on full strike action on Friday. Three Ontario school boards have said they will close schools if support staff completely withdraw their services. The Toronto Catholic District School Board, the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board and the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic School Board have said they will not be able to operate safely if CUPE members walk off the job.
Impasse on wages
Mediated talks between the province and the union broke down earlier this month, with the two sides still far apart on wages. The gap continued to head into Sunday’s session as the countdown counted to a potential strike. “No one wants to strike, more than all the low-wage teachers who can barely pay our bills,” Laura Walton, president of CUPE’s Ontario Council of School Boards Unions, said in a statement Sunday. “Nevertheless, we need a significant wage increase and we deserve it.” Education Minister Steven Lecce said he hoped CUPE would back down on what he called unreasonable demands, but said the government would do whatever it takes to keep students in school. “We are on the table with a fair offer that includes a pay raise and maintains the most generous pension and benefits package, but most importantly – keeps kids in class,” Lecce said in a press release Sunday. “If CUPE goes ahead with strike action and disruption, we will act to keep students in class so they can continue to catch up.” Education Minister Steven Lecce said the Ontario government “will act to keep students in class” after the union issued a five-day strike notice. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press) CUPE is seeking annual wage increases of 11.7 percent and the government in response has offered increases of two percent a year for workers making less than $40,000 and 1.25 percent for everyone else. Education workers have made several other proposals, including overtime at twice the rate of pay, 30 minutes of paid prep time per day for teaching assistants and ECEs, and increased benefits and career development for all employees. Apart from the wage proposal, the government’s proposal seeks to keep all other areas the same as the previous agreement, apart from reducing sick leave pay. The government wants to introduce what it calls a five-day “waiting period” for short-term disability during which a worker will receive 25 percent of their regular pay and 90 percent for the remaining 120 days.
Toronto Catholic schools among boards to close
The Toronto Catholic District School Board sent a letter Sunday informing parents that its 195 schools, serving more than 90,000 students, will be closed if CUPE goes ahead with a full strike. The TCDSB said this is being done “to ensure the health, welfare and safety of our students and staff.” “We are working with child care providers on a contingency plan and will communicate more information soon,” the letter said. “Parents with school-age children are encouraged to make alternative arrangements for their families.” The council said that with schools closed, all holidays, night schools and Saturday classes, special events and trips would be canceled during the strike. The Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board and the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic School Board together operate over 100 schools serving approximately 50,000 students in Peterborough, Bowmanville and the surrounding area. Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic said students would move to distance learning at home, while Kawartha Pine Ridge said it would share details of plans if it receives notice from CUPE of pending strike action. CUPE membership returned a 96.5 percent strike order earlier this month. In 2019, CUPE and the government reached a last-minute deal a day before workers were set to go on full strike action.
