Striking Ontario education workers are set to picket at politicians’ offices across the province Friday, with a major demonstration planned for the legislature.
That’s where, a day earlier, the Progressive Conservative government enacted a law imposing contracts on 55,000 education workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees and banned them from striking.
The law also uses the notwithstanding clause to protect against constitutional challenges.
But CUPE says the law is an attack on all workers’ bargaining rights and is staging a strike anyway, warning that it will likely last longer than one day.
The law sets out fines for violating a prohibition on strikes for the life of the agreement of up to $4,000 per employee per day, while there are fines of up to $500,000 for the union.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce has suggested the government would indeed pursue those penalties, while the union has said it would foot the bill for fines levied against workers, which could cost as much as $220 million per day.
Pickets will be set up outside the office of Bay of Quinte MPP Todd Smith today as well as Hastings Lennox and Addington MPP Ric Bresee’s Madoc and Napanee offices.
Schools in both the Hastings Prince Edward District School Board and Algonquin Lakeshore Catholic District School Board are closed today.
The Belleville YMCA reports its Kids Club Before and After School programs are also closed.
(The Canadian Press)
