Negotiations stalled between CUPE and provincial government, no progress made

Negotiations have stalled between the union representing educational support staff in Ontario and the provincial government this week, but a new date has been set to resume the talks.

Roughly 55,000 education workers in Ontario, such as custodians, early childhood educators and administration staff, will be in a legal strike position as of Nov. 3 if a deal is not reached.

Negotiations are set to resume just days before that with a mediator requesting talks on Nov. 1.

In a press conference, Laura Walton, president of CUPE’s Ontario School Boards Council of Unions, said there has been next to no progress made during this latest round of negotiations.

CUPE is seeking annual wage increases of 11.7 per cent, while the Ford government is offering between 1.2 and 2 per cent for workers making less than $40,000 and 1.25 per cent for all other workers.

Walton said CUPE are still working to determine what kind of strike action they would take on Nov. 3, but said in the past, work-to-rule campaign has “not worked on this government.”

“It meant nothing to them, in fact, it was only when we went to a full withdrawal of services in 2019, when we were moving towards that, that we were actually able to get them to come and truly negotiate at the table. I really hope it’s not going to take that amount of pressure,” said Walton.

When asked whether they could jump straight to a full strike instead of starting with job action, Walton replied, “It could be very possible.”

Widespread school closures had been planned in the event of a CUPE support staff strike in 2019, Walton said. A strike was avoided when CUPE and the government reached a last-minute deal the day before workers were set to  walk of the job.

“The work that we do is so integral to the running of schools, and especially to the safety of schools, and it’s so disappointing that we have to remove services in order for folks to actually value the work that we do,” said Walton. “It would be much easier and actually much more conducive to just recognize the vital nature of our work and ensure that we’re paid properly.”

Education Minister Stephen Lecce released a statement said “The education union is once again trying to disrupt in-class learning by refusing to compromise.”

“Parents can rest assured this government will not waver in its resolve to keep all students in class, where they belong,” read the statement.

Lecce would not say whether his government has prepared legislation to keep education workers on the job.

“The government has been clear we will ensure kids remain in school. We think it is so important after the past two difficult years. But I do believe and I do hope we can get a voluntary agreement that is fair for all workers that keeps these kids in class,” Lecce told CityNews.

Lecce said parents want to keep kids in class after establishing normal routines the first two months of school. “They’re finally getting back to the curriculum because we know reading, writing and math have taken hits. We’ve seen the research globally. These kids need to be in school to learn and so we are going to stand up to ensure they remain in the classroom.

Meanwhile, Walton shared that parents have been supportive of education workers being paid a fair wage. “There’s a lot that is upsetting parents right now, but it’s not that workers are demanding to be paid fairly,” said Walton.

“I think what’s also upsetting parents is the fact that we don’t have enough services in place. I think what’s upsetting parents right now is the number of times that they’re being told that the person who is replacing the EA support their child is receiving is unqualified or there’s not a person replacing them at all,” she added.

With files from Lucas Casaletto