The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said workers such as preschool teachers, teaching assistants and custodians will walk off the job Friday despite impending legislation that would make a strike illegal. Until now, the union had not said whether it was planning a one-day job action or a longer strike, but on Wednesday Laura Walton, president of CUPE’s Ontario Council of School Boards Unions, said workers would strike indefinitely. CUPE gave the government a counter-offer late on Tuesday, but Education Minister Steven Lecce said on Wednesday he would not negotiate those proposals unless the union scrapped its strike plans. “Without anything changing, we are on strike until no later than Friday unless an agreement is reached,” Walton said. At a press conference on Wednesday, Walton said the “regressive legislation” at Queen’s Park was interfering with the negotiation process. He said parents would have to “make arrangements” for their children on Friday, adding that CUPE would go on strike until an agreement was reached. WATCHES | Union on the latest developments in the talks with the government:
CUPE to go on strike on Friday ‘unless a deal is reached’
Laura Walton, president of CUPE’s Ontario School Board Union Council, said parents should make arrangements for their children on Friday as union members are set to strike indefinitely. Ontario’s education minister suggested Wednesday that there won’t be much movement at the bargaining table despite the union putting forward a counteroffer. The government said it would return to the table if asked by the ombudsman and wanted to hear whether the new offer from CUPE was “reasonable”. However, Lecce said on Wednesday that any new proposal must include plans to call off strikes. “Take the threat off the table and let’s talk,” he told a news conference. “We have been very clear. We are ready to negotiate with any willing partner, but they have to take the strike off the table on Friday. We will not accept a strike this Friday or any day.” The government initially offered raises of two per cent a year for workers earning less than $40,000 and 1.25 per cent for everyone else, but Education Minister Stephen Lecce says the new, four-year deal imposed would give 2.5 per cent annual raises for workers making less than $43,000 and 1.5 percent raises for everyone else. (Evan Mitsui/CBC) The Ontario government has introduced a bill — and hopes to pass it this week — to force a contract on education workers and ban strikes under the threat of hefty fines. CUPE negotiators submitted a counteroffer late Tuesday night in response to the contractual terms imposed in the legislation. The union has not detailed its new proposal, but Walton said it contained several concessions. “We have made significant moves across the board in hopes of reaching an agreement while ensuring that workers are paid well and that students and families have better services,” he said. The province hopes to see its bill passed this week, with Premier Doug Ford saying he will do everything he can to make sure kids stay in class. Debate on the legislation continued at Queen’s Park on Wednesday.
“What this government is doing is disastrous,” says the NDP leader
Ontario’s opposition parties roundly condemned the legislation, and more than a dozen NDP members were kicked out of the question in protest Wednesday, either using anti-parliamentary language or refusing to bring order. This move was not expected to affect the debate on the bill. Interim NDP Leader Peter Tabuns was kicked out of question period Wednesday after asking when Ford would stop lying, then refusing to retract the comment when asked by Speaker Ted Arnott. WATCHES | Many NDP members were kicked out of the room:
Interim NDP Leader Peter Tabuns Among 16 MPs Expelled from Ontario Legislature
About 16 NDP MPPs were kicked out of Queen’s Park Wednesday during a debate on legislation introduced by Premier Doug Ford’s government to ban education workers from striking. Meanwhile, the government tabled proposals on Wednesday to skip committees and sit until midnight if necessary.
CUPE says its workers are generally the lowest paid
The government initially offered raises of two percent a year for workers making less than $40,000 and 1.25 percent for everyone else, but Lecce said the new, mandated four-year deal would give 2.5 percent annual raises to workers with less than $43,000 and 1.5 percent raises for everyone else. CUPE said its workers, who make an average of $39,000 a year, are generally the lowest paid in schools and were asking for annual wage increases of 11.7 percent. WATCHES | Ontario plans to end education workers’ strike, despite clause:
Ontario plans to use notwithstanding clause to stop strike in education
As Ontario parents prepare for a teacher walkout Friday, closing many schools, constitutional experts are raising concerns about the provincial government’s plan to use the clause to pass anti-strike legislation. The union’s original proposal also included overtime at double the pay rate, 30 minutes of paid prep time per day for teaching assistants and ECEs, increased benefits and professional development for all employees. Several other unions, including teachers’ unions currently in negotiations with the government, have expressed their solidarity with CUPE. The most notable example is the Labor International Union of North America – LiUNA – which supported Ford’s Progressive Conservatives in the spring election. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as well as the federal justice and labor ministers, criticized the Ontario government for preemptively including the Constitution clause in the legislation, saying it should not be used to suspend workers’ rights. The clause allows the legislature to override parts of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for a five-year term.
