A showdown looms between Ontario’s 55,000 education workers and the provincial government.
In an early morning special sitting on Tuesday the PCs introduced legislation that would impose a four-year contract on the CUPE workers and ban a strike.
Appearing on CJBQ’s Lorne Brooker Show with Tim Durkin, Minister of Education Stephen Lecce said the union’s demand for an over $3 an hour increase in each year is way too much and families just can’t stand to have their children out of the classrooms again.
“We’re prepared to give more to the union, we’re prepared to hire 1,800 more of their workers, we have 7,000 more hired under our government alone but at the same time at what point does a government say enough is enough with the strikes.”
Lecce says the government is offering a 10% increase over four years for the lowest paid members of CUPE Local 1022.
Meanwhile, Belleville’s Laura Walton is President of CUPE’s Ontario School Board Council of Unions and says the average wage for administration, custodial, and classroom assistance staff of $39,000 a year just isn’t enough and is unfair.
“Workers are telling me with tears in their eyes that they cannot afford to continue to do this work and if they don’t get a real wage increase they are going to have to leave and you know for years these workers have been told if you don’t like it go find something else…well they are!”
Walton, an Educational Assistant with the Hastings Prince Edward District School Board, wouldn’t say whether the union would extend a walkout beyond Friday’s planned protest strike or not.
She says the government is stripping workers of their rights to a negotiated settlement, something the union would much prefer over strike action.
Meanwhile local school boards will close schools during any job action by the education workers, saying schools cannot be operated safely without the CUPE members.
Remote learning will be offered to students should a walkout occur.
