The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said workers will walk off the job Friday and beyond, despite legislation that would make a strike illegal. Educators, educational assistants and preschool guardians are participating in the strike action. The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) announced today that 8,000 education workers will also walk out on Friday in solidarity with their CUPE counterparts. Their largest group of members are in Peel District School Board and York District School Board, both of which have already said the CUPE strike will close schools. OPSEU president JP Hornick said legislation expected to be passed today by the Ontario government that would put a contract on CUPE education workers and bar them from striking is undemocratic. “Bill 28 is not just an attack on the collective bargaining rights of education workers, it is an attack on all workers’ rights,” Hornick said in a statement. The Toronto District School Board, the province’s largest board, says it will keep schools closed for the duration of the strike because it cannot ensure that schools remain safe for students. Many other school boards across the province plan to close schools or switch to remote learning for Friday. CUPE says workers plan to strike after Friday unless a deal is reached. Education Minister Steven Lecce says he will not negotiate further unless the union calls off its strike. He says the government has “no choice” but to go ahead with its legislation because of the CUPE strike threat. The province’s bill includes a four-year contract and would ban strikes, with hefty fines if workers don’t comply. The government initially offered raises of two percent a year for workers on less than $40,000 and 1.25 percent for everyone else, but says the new, mandated four-year deal would give 2.5 percent annual raises to workers on less from $43,000 and 1.5 percent increases for everyone else. CUPE said the framework is not accurate because the increases actually depend on hourly wages and pay scales, so the majority of workers earning less than $43,000 in a year would not get 2.5 percent. CUPE said its workers, who make an average of $39,000 a year, are generally the lowest paid in schools and are asking for annual wage increases of 11.7 percent.
