CUPE to stage provincewide protest

Union says education workers will walk off the job Friday in response to Ontario’s ban on strike

A union representing approximately 55,000 Ontario education workers said Monday its members will walk off the job on Friday despite the government tabling legislation to impose contracts and ban a strike.

Laura Walton, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employee’s Ontario School Board Council of Unions, said whether workers continue to protest after Friday “will be left up to what happens.”

“I am so proud because our members have said, ‘Enough is enough,’ ” Walton said.

The Ontario government introduced legislation Monday to impose a contract on CUPE’s education workers — including librarians, custodians and early childhood educators — and avert a strike that was set to start Friday.

CUPE has said it will explore every avenue to fight the bill, but the government said it intends to use the notwithstanding clause to keep the eventual law in force despite any constitutional challenges. The clause allows the legislature to override portions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for a five-year term.

“We want to make sure that there’s no issues, litigation or otherwise, that could essentially get these kids back out of class because of strikes locally or provincially,” Education Minister Stephen Lecce said.

“This proposal, this legislation, provides absolute stability for kids to the extent we can control it and ensures they remain in a classroom, that nothing, nothing at all now or in the future could prevent a child’s right to be in a classroom learning.”

The government had been offering raises of two per cent a year for workers making less than $40,000 and 1.25 per cent for all others.

Lecce said the new, four-year deal would give 2.5 per cent annual raises to workers making less than $43,000 and 1.5 per cent raises for all others.

CUPE has said its workers, which make on average $39,000 a year, are generally the lowest paid in schools and it has been seeking annual salary increases of 11.7 per cent.

CUPE Ontario president Fred Hahn said workerswere in a legal strike position as of this Thursday and they will take a stand for public education. “If that bill passes before Friday it doesn’t matter. If they say it’s illegal to strike then we will be on a political protest,” he said.

Lecce said it was “regretful” to hear that CUPE plans to walk out anyway.

The clause allows the legislature to override portions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for a five-year term