Several Ontario school districts say they will need to close on Friday as 55,000 workers who are CUPE members plan to strike Friday
Many families across Ontario are scrambling to secure child care for Friday amid potential school closings. Support workersto defy a government bill that imposes a contract and strips them of their right to strike.Ontario School Board Council of Unions, or OSBCU, include early childhood educators, caretakers and education assistants who work with special-needs children.
She can manage with a one-day closing, she said, but doesn’t know how she will work if schools remain shut longer. Her son struggled with online learning during the pandemic, especially because the internet was slow and glitchy in her area. Toronto mom Yona Nestel enrolled her two children in a day camp for Friday because she and her husband work. She said that while she had to scramble to find child care, she was more upset at how the government treated education workers by“This is just crossing every line. I don’t know one parent that is supporting the government,” she said. “To see these workers that do so much for our schools and for our students treated so poorly is infuriating.
The government’s final offer to OSBCU increased wages to 2.5 per cent each year for workers earning less than $43,000, and included a 1.5-per-cent annual hike for those earning more. The union said that amounts to 40 to 67 cents an hour. Heather Hanwell, a parent in Thornhill, said she was “disappointed that this minister refuses to do what it takes to actually minimize learning disruptions.” Instead of a heavy-handed approach, she said, the government should bargain in good faith.
Her daughter’s classroom has eight children, all of whom have exceptionalities. There are typically five adults in the room, four of whom are support staff.
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