The Near North District School Board has sent an update informing stakeholders its senior team is "awaiting guidance from the Ministry of Education," and is planning for a strike that could begin as early as Monday, Nov. 21 without further progress toward an agreement for education workers.
Wednesday morning, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) gave five-day notice of a full strike, a requirement of The School Boards Collective Bargaining Act.
According to CUPE, the "notice from education workers means a strike is possible starting on Monday if the Ford government doesn’t get a deal done."
See related: Ontario education workers file strike notice again, say talks broke down
Local education workers and their supporters are expected to gather outside MPP Vic Fedeli's constituency office, Monday, on Main Street East if the strike proceeds.
See also: VIDEO: 'Enough is enough' say supporters of education workers
"Why are we in a position where kids might be out of school?" Education Minister Stephen Lecce asked while speaking with the media, Wednesday. "Why are we here? We have done everything in good faith. We've followed through on our commitments. I want families to know that we will stand strong, stay at the table, and work to get a deal that keeps kids in the classroom."
The union represents school secretaries, custodial and maintenance staff, IT technicians, library technicians, as well as some finance and board support staff In the NNDSB. There is the potential for hundreds of local CUPE members to join the more than 50,000 education workers in the province in strike action next week.
A walkout two weeks ago resulted in many schools being closed to in-person learning locally and across Ontario, as the union held demonstrations in search of improved wages and working conditions. Ontario invoked the notwithstanding clause and passed Bill 28 to restrict labour action and impose a contract on unionized workers.
The walkouts went forward as planned and the Ford government relented. In exchange for a return to work, the government promised to repeal Bill 28.
See also: Ontario repeals law that banned education workers from striking
Lecce called the looming strike "unfair," saying the government did "everything we said we would."
"This is not where we wanted to be," said Laura Walton, an educational assistant and president of CUPE's Ontario School Boards Council of Unions via a press release. "We hoped the Ford government would accept our reasonable, affordable, and necessary proposals five months ago. We hoped they’d recognize the urgency of workers’ plea for resources in our historic strike vote. We hoped they’d respond to last week’s show of parent and worker solidarity. Yet they came back without a single cent for students. They’ve left us no choice."
And: Anxious CUPE protesters warn they still could strike
Although CUPE said a $335-million agreement with the government raising wages one dollar hour per in each of four years was in place, the union also announced two days' worth of talks had broken down over staffing level guarantees. CUPE says those staffing requests would cost $100 million and go toward the staffing of educational assistants, librarians, custodians, secretaries, and early childhood educators.
“If this government was serious about their plan to catch up, they’d listen to the workers who do the most to support learners and they’d put an early childhood
educator in every kindergarten class and provide more students with the direct support of an educational assistant,” Walton said. “We’ve heard from parents desperate for these improvements. We felt their support at our protests across the province. And we’re not going to turn our backs on students, parents, and families.”
