Majority of Ontarians say education should be an essential service: Maru poll
Posted November 9, 2022 6:51 pm.
A majority of Ontarians (59 per cent) believe education should be declared an essential service, according to a new Maru public opinion poll released on Wednesday.
If it were deemed an essential service, strikes by teachers and all other education workers would be banned and stalled labour disputes would be settled by binding arbitration. Forty-one per cent don’t think it should be deemed essential.
The poll finds a near split when it comes to which approach would best resolve the ongoing labour impasse.
A small majority (53 per cent) think the best strategy is for both sides to continue to bargain without intervention, while 47 per cent believe an arbitrator should settle the matter.
A separate Maru poll released on Tuesday found that a majority (59 per cent) sides with the union over the provincial government (41 per cent) in the dispute.
Despite education workers returning to the job, the two sides are still divided on some key issues.
On Wednesday night, CUPE said the unlawful strike application has been withdrawn by the government, meaning members won’t face fines for the two days of walkouts.
Methodology:
The data was collected on November 7-8, 2022, among a random selection of 557 Ontario adults. A probability sample of this size has an estimated margin of error (which measures sampling variability) of +/- 4.2%, 19 times out of 20.
