Hundreds of education workers took to the picket line early Friday morning in Kingston, circling Princess and Concession streets near the Kingston Centre.
Chris Jackson, an educational assistant, says Education Minister Stephen Lecce should step down from his ministerial position.
“I have three jobs to get by. I’ve been an EA for 20 years and I can’t afford to live on this income and that’s what this is about and we support our kids we are passionate about this,” Jackson said while walking the picket line.
Early childhood educator Rebecca Simkins shares similar sentiments with Jackson, and she is upset with the Tory government’s use of the notwithstanding clause to legislate them back to work.
“We want to be heard, we want better respect, better living conditions, and that’s kind of what it boils down to — they cannot tell us we are not allowed to strike,” said Simkins.
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Bill 28, passed on Thursday by the Ontario government, has been dubbed the Keeping Students in Class Act but it seems to have had the opposite effect.
As a result of the education worker strike, both the Limestone District School Board and Algonquin & Lakeshore Catholic District School Board have closed all their schools, stating they couldn’t open their schools safely with so many education workers absent from the workplace.
The Limestone District School Board has switched to asynchronous learning, but that change to online has been difficult, according to Krishna Burra, the board’s director of education.
Burra says all their information technology service workers are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and are on strike.
“Our ability to ramp up will increase over the course of time in terms of a cumulative effect, but it is not something that can happen as easily as it did even during the pandemic,” Burra told Global Kingston.
Joining the striking CUPE workers were other unions and members like the Public Service Alliance of Canada, as well as some parents and families.
Cherisse Vanloo says she has a four-year-old son with special needs who just entered kindergarten.
She says she came out to support the CUPE workers and thinks the provincial government needs to be more reasonable.
“I don’t think what they’re asking for is unreasonable, a living wage as well as proper work conditions to be able to take care of society’s most precious gift, which is our children,” said Vanloo.
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So far the provincial government isn’t showing any signs of backing down.
“Immediately following proclamation of the Keeping Students in Class Act, we filed a submission to the Ontario Labour Relations Board in response to CUPE’s illegal strike action. Proceedings started last night and will continue today,” a Friday morning release attributed to Lecce read.
“Nothing matters more right now than getting all students back in the classroom and we will use every tool available to us to do so.”
That toolbox available to the province includes hefty fines that can be levied against CUPE and the workers for every day they are out on strike.
“To levy such fines against the lowest-paid workers and expect that we’re going to be able to pay that,” said CUPE 1480 president Erin Provost. “We’re not putting up with bullying, we don’t let our kids put up with it in school and we’re not going to put up with it from the government.”
Provost also says the Friday job action is not a one-day event.
“We will be out here until they take the legislation off the table. Until they ask us to come back to the table we’re not backing down,” said Provost.
To date, that hasn’t happened and no meetings between CUPE and the province are scheduled.
A statement posted to the Limestone District School Board website early Friday evening says the board anticipates schools will remain closed on Monday, Nov. 7.
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