Ontario’s schools will be open as usual today after a strike by Ontario’s 55,000 education workers was averted at the 11th hour
Shortly the 5 p.m. Sunday deadline, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) announced that it has reached a tentative agreement with the provincial government and its members would not be walking off the job as planned
Most school boards across Ontario said they would be suspending in-person learning if education support staff went on strike
Five days ago, the union announced it would take that step if a deal wasn’t struck with the province
The two sides had been in bargaining talks for a total of 171 days. More than 50,000 custodians, early childhood educators, and school administration staff who work in the province’s public, Catholic, English, and French school boards were without a collective agreement since Aug. 31
“The workers will be in schools tomorrow and there will not be a strike,” Laura Walton, president of CUPE’s Ontario School Board Council of Unions, said late Sunday afternoon
She said ratification vote for the new deal will now be held and the union said it is recommending its members accept the agreement. The vote is expected to get underway on Thursday and should wrap up by the weekend. The two sides will go back to the bargaining table if the agreement is not ratified, Walton, a Bellville education assistant, noted
Speaking directly to her members, Walton said she’s “incredibly proud” of the work they did, including getting organized, making phone calls, and building solidarity
“You gave the bargaining team a hefty assignment achieving real wage gains, improving working conditions, and enhancing the services our students need and our parents rely on. You put your energy into this,” she said
“The entire central bargaining committee wishes we could have moved the government to make the investment in public education that you not only wanted, but that you needed and that your children deserve. That fight does not end with one setback. We will keep representing your needs and we will keep fighting for you and with you”
According to Walton, the government made no further concessions, adding the province “did not provide any new money for new services”
Walton said in the end CUPE is accepting a $1 flat rate wage increase, which she said “falls very short of what the workers need in this current climate”
The union previously said the government proposed a 3.59 per cent wage increase for workers, an increase from their previous offer, which included a 2.5 per cent annual raise for workers earning under $43,000 and a 1.5 per cent yearly wage increase for those who make more
These terms were mandated into a contract for the workers under Bill 28, the “Keeping Students in Class Act”, which used the notwithstanding clause to make it illegal for workers to go on strike. The province rescinded that bill last week following two days of protests and a promise to return to talks with the union
“As a mom, I don’t like this deal. As a worker. I don’t like this deal. As the president of the OSBCU, I understand what this is the deal that’s on the table. I think it falls short,” Walton said
“I think it’s terrible that we live in a world that doesn’t see the need to provide services to kids that they need, but we will always put workers first we will always put our students first. And that’s why there will not be a strike tomorrow. That’s why we’re taking it to the workers. And that’s why we hope to have it completed the ratification vote completed by Sunday, a week today”
Speaking to briefly to reporters following CUPE announcement, Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the agreement is a positive outcome for all partie”
“The biggest beneficiary of this deal is our kids, who are going to have some stability and be able to stay in school,” he said
“We are grateful to all parties for working with the government. … Kids deserve to be in class and I’m proud to confirm they will be tomorrow”
Lecce, who would not speak to the specifics of the agreement, said there have been some “incremental wins” for both sides and that “every party leaves the table with something that they wanted to advance
“The greatest beneficiary of this deal is our kids who are going to be in school. That’s what matters. This is not about unions winning or government winning,” he said, calling the agreement a “material win for working parents”
Lecce said regardless of the ratification vote outcome, the province government intends to stay at the table and would continue to have “good faith negotiations” with Ontario’s four other key education unions that are currently in contract negotiations
With files from CTV Toronto’s Katherine DeClerq
Joanna Lavoie, CP24 Web Content Writer
