Doug Ford tells education workers who voted to strike ‘don’t force your hand’

Ontario Premier Doug Ford sent a message Thursday to education workers who voted to strike: “Don’t force my hand.”

The Canadian Union of Public Employees announced earlier this week that its members, such as early childhood educators, janitors and administrative staff, voted 96.5 percent in favor of the strike.

Ford was asked at a news conference Thursday whether he would legislate for them to return to work in the event of a walkout. He said he won’t be “moving” on wanting to keep classrooms free from disruptions.

“To the unions, to the teachers’ unions: please don’t strike. Don’t force my hand,” Ford said. “I strongly believe in negotiation, but no, don’t go on strike.”

CUPE represents education workers and school support staff, not teachers. Workers include education assistants, early childhood educators, librarians, custodians, social workers, and administrative assistants, among many other roles.

CUPE’s 55,000 education workers have never been on strike over the central collective agreement, the union said, although some local chapters have gone on strike in the past.

It’s unclear what exactly the strike would look like, if it goes ahead. Past labor action in the education sector has taken the form of work to rule, continuous and intermittent strikes, and a total withdrawal from services.

Ford said his words were not a threat to education workers.

“What I said was please, and I beg you not to strike,” he said.

He said parents and children have been through a lot in the past two years, as the province closed physical schools for weeks and months due to the pandemic.

“What we are focusing on is making sure students are in classrooms,” he said.

CUPE was scheduled to negotiate Thursday and Friday with the government, and the union has said the two days of talks would be key to determining next steps.

Laura Walton, president of CUPE’s Ontario School Boards Union Council, said in a statement Thursday that the union’s proposals are reasonable, necessary and affordable, and that Ford has the power to accept them today.

“If he does that, the lowest-paid education workers who average just $39,000 a year won’t have to go on strike to make ends meet and defend student services from Ford’s cuts,” he wrote. .

The government has offered raises of two percent a year for workers earning less than $40,000 and 1.25 percent for all other workers, while CUPE is seeking annual raises of 11.7 percent.

CUPE has said the government offer amounts to an additional $800 a year for the average worker.

The government has said that CUPE also wants an additional five paid days before the start of the school year, an increase in overtime pay from a multiplier of 1.5 to 2, and 30 minutes of paid preparation time each day.

The four main teachers’ unions are also in various stages of negotiations after contracts expired on August 31, but none have voted to strike.


This report from The Canadian Press was first published on October 6, 2022.

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