Efforts to avoid a strike at schools across the province have failed, with more than 55,000 education workers now expected to walk off the job on Friday.
The Ford government announced Thursday afternoon that talks had broken down between the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the province and that the government will be moving forward with invoking the Notwithstanding Clause to impose a contract on education workers.
CUPE, which represents schools support staff across Ontario, maintained that its members will strike on Friday if progress wasn’t made at the bargaining table, despite the threat of fines.
Union picket lines are planned for Friday outside the office of Chatham-Kent-Leamington MPP Trevor Jones in Chatham, Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Monte McNaughton’s office in Strathroy, and MPP Bob Bailey’s office in Sarnia.
Both the Lambton Kent and St Clair Catholic District School Boards have said without education workers and support staff, schools cannot be safely operated and will be closed during the strike.
