The union representing Ontario’s education workers has ended a province-wide strike, with the Ford government promising to reverse the controversial use of the Notwithstanding Clause to impose a contract.
CUPE members walked off the job on Friday after mediated talks between the two sides broke down over and the government passed Bill 28, declaring a strike illegal and imposing a contract on education workers.
The union represents roughly 55,000 school support staff, including educational assistants, early childhood educators, custodians, librarians, and administrative staff, but not teachers.
Premier Doug Ford held a news conference Monday morning, offering to rescind the controversial legislation.
“As a gesture of good faith, our government is willing to rescind the legislation, we’re willing to rescind section 33, but only if CUPE agrees to show a similar gesture of good faith by stopping their strike and letting our kids back into their classrooms.”
Section 33 refers to the government’s use of the notwithstanding clause, protecting the government against any constitutional challenges.
Shortly after, CUPE held its own news conference, alongside the Canadian Labour Congress, the Ontario Federation of Labour, and other public and private sector unions, to announce they would end the province-wide strike and return to the bargaining table.
During the new conference, Laura Walton, president of CUPE’s Ontario School Board Council of Unions, said education workers will return to work on Tuesday. However, she said the union remains in a legal strike position should talks with the government once again break down.
“With the repeal of Bill 28, education workers’ rights are intact again. We have not used our leverage, our is not a one-and-done. Worker power remains and it builds every single day,” said Walton. “We need to be clear to this government, this is just the beginning.”
With the end of the walkout, both the St. Clair Catholic District School Board and the Lambton Kent District School Board have announced that their schools will reopen to students on Tuesday.
