Tensions are mounting between the Union representing thousands of education workers in Ontario and the province and the reality of a work stoppage or other job action is coming closer.
CUPE, the union representing about 55-thousand education workers (including many in the UCDSB and CDSBEO, locally) says contract talks with the province will resume just two days before they’re in a legal strike position.
CUPE says the mediator assisting the talks concluded they should be adjourned after virtually no progress was made over the past three days of negotiations.
CUPE representative Laura Walton blames education minister Stephen Lecce for painting the union with a bad brush. “Strike are not imposed on children,” she said. “And this divisive narrative that this minister continues to do is really what is detrimental in our society today.”
The union says if talks aren’t fruitful when they resume November 1st, a full strike is “very possible” by workers including educational assistants, custodians and early childhood educators.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce is accusing CUPE of “trying to disrupt in-class learning” by refusing to compromise on what he calls unreasonable wage demands. He says he believes that the union is seriously considering a strike and that causes stress for families across the province.
Without saying the province would impose back to work legislation if a strike were to happen, Lecce said the province will do what it has to do to keep kids in school.
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