The Ontario government has tabled legislation that will impose a contract on education workers and not allow them to legally walk off the job.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), who represent about 55,000 Ontario education workers, gave five days’ notice of a potential provincewide strike on Sunday morning if a new deal isn’t reached with the government by Friday.
Despite the legislation, CUPE said education workers still will walk off the job this Friday.
The government had been offering raises of two per cent a year for workers making less than $40,000 and 1.25 per cent for all others, and Lecce says the new deal would give 2.5 per cent annual raises to workers making less than $43,000 and 1.5 per cent raises for all others.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce is expected to hold a press conference at 2 p.m. He said kids faced disruption in schools with teacher job action three years ago, which was then followed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Lecce says nothing should stand in the way of a kid’s right to learn.
The union says it will be looking at every avenue to fight the legislation.
Negotiations on the contract between the two sides was set to resume on Nov. 1.
Other than the proposal on wages, the government’s offer seeks to keep all other areas the same as the previous deal except for a cut to sick leave pay.
The province wants to institute what it’s calling a five-day “waiting period” for short-term disability, during which a worker would receive 25 per cent of their normal pay and 90 per cent for the rest of the 120 days.
CUPE has been seeking annual salary increases of 11.7 per cent as well as overtime at twice the regular pay rate, 30 minutes of paid prep time per day for educational assistants and ECEs, an increase in benefits and professional development for all workers.
Some school boards have already released plans for students should education workers walk off the job on Friday with some saying they would be forced to cancel all classes should a strike happen.
The Canadian Press, John Marchesan and Michael Ranger
