Ontario’s education minister plans to introduce legislation Monday that would prevent an impending strike by support staff and force them into a contract, a proposal the union said it is prepared to fight. Stephen Lecce’s announcement came hours after the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents about 55,000 education workers, said it had given the required five days’ notice to begin a full strike Friday. They are on a legal strike on Thursday. “With CUPE refusing to withdraw its intention to strike to avoid school closures, we will have no choice but to introduce legislation tomorrow which will ensure students stay in class to catch up on their learning Lecce said in a statement late Sunday. The government 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 deal would give annual raises of 2.5 percent to workers making less than $43,000 dollars and 1.5 percent cents for all others. CUPE is seeking annual wage increases of 11.7%, as well as overtime at twice the rate of pay, 30 minutes of paid prep time per day for teaching assistants and ECEs, increased benefits and professional development for all employees. Laura Walton, president of the Ontario Council of School Boards Unions of CUPE, said the government’s move is not just an attack on low-wage education workers, but on workers in general. “This is not just about our teacher allies, but I think about every worker in this province,” Walton said. “This is a government that does not work for the workers and it is clear.” Walton said CUPE would “look at every avenue to fight back” and noted there had been similar actions by the former Liberal government. Education unions won a legal challenge several years ago against the Liberal government over legislation known as Bill 115, which froze some of their wages and limited their ability to strike. The judge ruled that the government “materially interfered with meaningful collective bargaining” and Ontario had to pay more than $100 million in remedies to the unions. At least three Ontario school boards have said they will close schools if support staff withdraw their services entirely. 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 could not operate safely if CUPE members walked off the job. The Toronto District School Board told parents it was assessing the impact of a possible CUPE strike, but that maintaining a normal routine would be “very difficult” and families should be “prepared for all eventualities.” In 2019, CUPE and the government reached a last-minute deal a day before workers were set to go on full strike action. Mediated talks between the province and the union failed earlier this month. 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 province wants to institute what it calls a five-day “waiting period” for short-term disability, during which a worker would receive 25 percent of their regular pay and 90 percent for the remaining 120 days. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on October 30, 2022.
