WELLINGTON COUNTY – About 55,000 members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) could walk out of schools on Monday.
The union announced on Oct. 2 that it was providing the required five days’ notice to escalate its work-to-rule job action to a full strike.
Locally, the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) and Wellington Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) have stated all schools will remain open on Oct. 7 despite the planned strike.
The WCDSB also said all before and after school care programs will also continue.
CUPE members, who have been without a contract since the end of August, first initiated work-to-rule job action on Sept. 23.
“I’ll be frank: we had hoped work-to-rule would force the parties to get together and agree to a deal,” stated Laura Walton, president of CUPE’s Ontario School Board Council of Unions, which negotiates centrally on behalf of the union’s school board employees.
“But that hasn’t happened, and now we’re hearing stories that cause us great concern.”
Walton said some school boards are closing programs and sending workers home, while some are paying parents to do the work of CUPE members. The Advertiser was unable to substantiate those claims.
Government officials have expressed surprise at the escalation of CUPE job action to a full strike.
Both sides have agreed to resume talks on Friday (Oct. 4) at 4:30pm.
Local public schools
Across the UGDSB, CUPE represents custodial and maintenance staff, and English as a second language (ESL) instructors in the adult continuing education program.
In Wellington County, the strike will affect elementary schools in Aberfoyle, Alma, Drayton, Erin and Harriston, as well as high schools in Fergus and Erin.
The UGDSB website notes schools will remain open on Oct. 7, but impacts could include “possible picket lines affecting vehicular traffic and possible bus delays (including field trips).”
The site also noted all community use will be cancelled at CUPE schools and board sites as of Oct. 7. However, the board did say that commencement at secondary schools would proceed as planned.
“School administrators will monitor their schools for any health and safety concerns,” the UGDSB official wrote on the website. “The safety and well-being of our students remains our top priority. The board will continue to monitor the situation closely.”
For more information visit http://www.ugdsb.ca/board/labour-relations.
Catholic schools
In the WCDSB, CUPE represents custodians at schools in Guelph, Rockwood and Erin, as well as system maintenance staff.
“While we remain hopeful a settlement might be reached by the end of the day on [Oct. 6], we also need to prepare for the possibility that if there is no agreement by that time, CUPE will be expanding its strike,” states the WCDSB website.
The board website states all schools will be open on Oct. 7, as will before and after school care programs.
The website notes “contingency planning is underway” and officials will continue to monitor the situation.
“As always, the safety of our students and staff will be given priority and the withdrawal of services CUPE will be considered through this lens,” states the website.
For more information visit http://www.wellingtoncdsb.ca.
The issues
For CUPE, the main issue is job security, as union officials say hundreds of jobs were lost when school boards balanced their 2019-20 budgets. Union officials say they will not accept concessions.
Government officials have stated they are concerned about absenteeism, as the average CUPE worker misses 15 days annually. Workers are entitled to 11 sick days at full pay, and another 120 days at 90 per cent pay for short-term disability. The government has proposed lowering slightly the number of sick days, stating it will make other concessions in return.
- With files from Chris Daponte
