School strike this Monday unless deal reached: union
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CUPE Ontario education workers have set a new strike date of Nov. 21.
Laura Walton, president of CUPE-OSBCU, said they’re prepared to keep negotiating.
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“It will be a full strike on Monday but our goal is to get a deal done,” Walton said Wednesday.
Education Minister Steve Lecce called the development disappointing, saying the government has held up its end of bargaining by withdrawing Bill 28, offering multiple improved offers including across-the-board wage hikes and demanding no concessions.
CUPE has rejected all of the government’s offers, Lecce said.
“We know the impacts on children of a disruption from a mental, physical and academic perspective,” Lecce said. (The union) needs to start reflecting on how these disruptions impact working people and their kids. And it shouldn’t be a casual thing you do every other week.”
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The union’s 55,000 members walked out for two days earlier this month, prompting most schools in the province to close to in-person learning.
The Doug Ford government repealed Bill 28, the Keeping Students in Class Act, Monday on the condition that the education workers would end their protest.
The union’s new strike notice was not premature because after two full days of bargaining it was clear the government was not going to address their concerns around staffing, Walton said.
The union leader had previously told the public that a significant issue was pay because some of their lowest-earning members were being forced to turn to food banks, but she said Thursday that this dispute was never just about wages.
“This has always been about the services,” Walton said.
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Asked if he would consider bringing Bill 28 back in some form, and use the notwithstanding clause to override collective bargaining rights in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Lecce said the government plans to stay at the table to get a deal.
“That is our obligation,” he said. “We want a negotiated settlement with the union.”
CUPE National President Mark Hancock said the entire union is standing with the education workers.
“Not one of them wants to go on strike,” Hancock said. “Going on strike is always our last resort and it’s never something that we take lightly,” Hancock said. “Our members would much rather be in schools working and helping kids succeed in their classes than walking a picket line… Let’s acknowledge that good quality public education costs money but families, parents and workers all agree in this province it’s worth it because it’s for our kids.”
Among CUPE Ontario members are educational assistants, maintenance workers and office staff.
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