At a press conference, Education Minister Steven Lecce said the government was making “a good faith effort” but the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) would not back down and take the threat of a strike off the table. “For the sake of Ontario’s two million students, to keep classrooms open, CUPE left us with no choice but to pass the Keeping (Students) in Classroom Act,” he said. Lecce’s comments came shortly after the union’s negotiating committee announced that mediation had come to an end. “This afternoon we were informed that the mediation has been concluded,” the negotiating committee said. “It is clear that this government never intended to negotiate. The time and effort they spent on Bill 28, which takes away the rights of education workers, should have been spent on a deal that would respect workers and ensure the services students desperately need.” Bill 28 uses the non-applicability clause to legislate a four-year contract on workers while preventing them from taking action. The bill was introduced on Monday and is expected to be voted on later today. The union said that despite the legislation, its members will participate in a province-wide strike “until further notice”, starting on Friday. However, Lecce said that “if they go ahead with it, it will be illegal”. “We will use every tool at our disposal to end the disruption.” Part of those tools include hefty fines for those who defy Bill 28, including fines of up to $4,000 for individuals who strike and $500,000 for unions that organize them. This is breaking news. More information to follow.
title: “Ontario Schools Strike Confirmed For Friday No Deal " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-23” author: “George Webb”
At a press conference, Education Minister Steven Lecce said the government was making “a good faith effort” but the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) would not back down and take the threat of a strike off the table. “For the sake of Ontario’s two million students, to keep classrooms open, CUPE left us with no choice but to pass the Keeping (Students) in Classroom Act,” he said. Lecce’s comments came shortly after the union’s negotiating committee announced that mediation had come to an end. “This afternoon we were informed that the mediation has been concluded,” the negotiating committee said. “It is clear that this government never intended to negotiate. The time and effort they spent on Bill 28, which takes away the rights of education workers, should have been spent on a deal that would respect workers and ensure the services students desperately need.” Bill 28 uses the non-applicability clause to legislate a four-year contract on workers while preventing them from taking action. The bill was introduced on Monday and is expected to be voted on later today. The union said that despite the legislation, its members will participate in a province-wide strike “until further notice”, starting on Friday. However, Lecce said that “if they go ahead with it, it will be illegal”. “We will use every tool at our disposal to end the disruption.” Part of those tools include hefty fines for those who defy Bill 28, including fines of up to $4,000 for individuals who strike and $500,000 for unions that organize them. “We will use every tool available to send a clear clear message: schools must be open and there is accountability for breaking the law,” Lecce said.
DISCUSSIONS DESTROYED
Bill 28 imposes a four-year contract on more than 55,000 education support workers, including custodians, early childhood teachers, educational assistants and administrative staff. Part of that contract includes a 2.5 percent annual pay raise for people making less than $43,000 a year and a 1.5 percent raise for all other employees. CUPE is advocating an 11.7 percent increase, which equates to about $3.25 more an hour across the board. The union said Thursday it was making “significant moves” on its proposal in an effort to reach an agreement, but would not elaborate. The Ontario government, on the other hand, said that unless the threat of a strike – which is a common negotiating tactic – is dropped it would not accept any more proposals. This fact seemed to be confirmed today by Lecce on Thursday. “All along we have hoped to reach an agreement that is right for the students, for the parents, for the workers and for the taxpayers in this province. But CUPE would not budge. They refused to take a strike off the table.” This is a developing story. More information to follow.
