The union that represents some 55,000 Ontario education workers has filed a notice to “once again shut down classrooms,” the province’s education minister said Wednesday
Stephen Lecce said in a statement that the development came “only a few short days after talks restarted” with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)
“Since resuming talks, we’ve put forward multiple improved offers that would have added hundreds of millions of dollars across the sector, especially for lower income workers,” Lecce said in a statement
“CUPE has rejected all of these offers,” he said
The news comes ahead of a planned news conference by CUPE in which Laura Walton, president of its Ontario School Board Council of Unions, and Mark Hancock, CUPE national president, were set to provide an update on negotiations at 10 a.m
CUPE’s education workers are still in legal strike position after a conciliator issued what’s known as a “no board” report on Oct. 17
The union does not have to re-request the report if it wants to strike again, but would have to give a notice of five days of their intentions to do so
CUPE has not yet responded to the statement issued by the Ministry of Education on Wednesday
The union and the Ontario government returned to the negotiating table last week following a two-day strike by the union’s custodians, librarians and early childhood educators that forced the closure of hundreds of schools across the province
Those workers walked off the job after negotiations for new contracts fell apart and the government introduced and passed legislation that made it illegal to strike, despite the union being in a legal position to do so at the time
On Monday, Doug Ford’s government repealed Bill 28—which made use of the controversial notwithstanding clause—making good on a promise to scrap the legislation in a good-faith effort to end the job action and return to negotiations
Since then, Walton has said the union and the government are still “far apart” on reaching a deal
“We remain at the bargaining table committed to achieving a freely negotiated collective agreement that meets the needs of students, families, and workers,” she said in a statement issued Tuesday
The government’s last offer to education workers included an annual wage increase of 2.5 per cent for those making less than $43,000 and 1.5 per cent for the rest of the workforce
Since then, Ford has said that a new “improved” offer that would “particularly” benefit lower-income workers would be put forth, though few other details have been revealed. Unconfirmed reports surfaced last Tuesday citing a new offer of 3.5 per cent and two per cent, but Walton said at the time that the union would not accept a two-tiered offer
The news conference will be streamed live on CTV News Toronto and the CTV News app
With files from Hannah Alberga
