More than 100 local education workers and union members set up picket lines in front of Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop’s office Friday morning, officially walking off the job and kicking off the first day of their strike.
They join thousands of education workers across the province who have resorted to collective action to negotiate better salaries, among other needs.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), representing over 55,000 education workers in Ontario, are seeking wage increases as education workers struggle to get by on their salaries amid rising inflation and stagnant wages.
The strike is taking place in spite of provincial legislation, Bill 28, passed Thursday that bans strike action and imposes a four-year contract on CUPE workers. Striking workers may face fines of up to $4,000 per day under the legislation.
Many schools across the province have shuttered operations as the strike unfolds. Locally, both the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board and the Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) decided to close its schools Friday.
Among the crowd outside MPP Dunlop’s office Friday were educational assistants, custodians, and representatives from CUPE and other unions.
Rene Bernier has worked as an educational assistant for 18 years at Orchard Park Public School.
Although passionate about his work, he said the job comes with a number of difficulties.
“Most of us are physically assaulted, verbally assaulted, punching, kicking, scratching, spitting, you name it," said Bernier. "These are some of the kids in our system that are most vulnerable, and we are the men and women that are with those children every single day.
"Our job is to make sure that these children are able to learn social skills, learn proper etiquette and behaviour … before they can continue on as an adult," said Bernier.
“The amount of pay that we're getting, too … we are living in basically poverty,” added fellow educational assistant Kirsten Hartnett. “I've had to go to the food bank on several occasions. I have a big family, and this is just unacceptable. I haven't had a raise or anything.”
Bernier said the legislation passed by the provincial government Thursday has further resolved his willingness to strike.
On Thursday, the province passed legislation (Bill 28) to use the notwithstanding clause to force CUPE members back to work by forcing through a four-year contract not agreed to by the union and making a strike illegal and all strikers subject to fines of up to $4,000 per day, plus fines up to $500,000 for the union.
According to the record of the Nov. 3 legislature proceedings, Bill 28 passed at Queen's Park with a vote of 76 in favour and 32 against. The notes record MPP Dunlop voted in favour.
The notwithstanding clause is a part of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms a government can use to deviate from and/or override the sections in the Charter that set out fundamental freedoms, legal rights, and equality rights. It cannot apply to democratic, mobility, or language rights. Legislation passed under the notwithstanding clause can remain in effect for five years, and can be re-enacted.
This is the first time an Ontario government has used the notwithstanding clause for back-to-work legislation. The bill passed on Thursday blocks employees from striking, or negotiating wages any further, legally binding education workers to a four-year contract. The four-year contract now being imposed by the province says it will give a 2.5 per cent annual raise to workers making less than $43,000 a year, and a 1.5 per cent increase for all others.
CUPE has challenged this statement, saying the raises are based on hourly rates and pay scales, so the contract won’t actually give all workers with a salary under $43,000 the full 2.5 per cent.
CUPE originally asked for an 11.7 per cent increase for its workers making $39,000 or less (about $4,500 per year before taxes, or approximately $3 per hour).
“It makes me, personally, want to go even stronger. All the fine talk, as far as we're concerned, is nothing but a bullying tactic that's coming in. It's shameful, and we need to be strong," said Bernier.
“We're here to support our CUPE union members. It's unfortunate that the Ford government, along with Minister Lecce, have decided to take away our rights and freedoms when it comes to striking and bargaining,” Bernier said.
Cheryl Labelle, a custodian with 30 years experience at numerous SCDSB schools, feels the same way about bargaining for her rights.
“I feel we deserve our rights to bargain,” she said. “In the 30 years I've been with the board, we have not gotten a lot of raises, and always fought for our benefits.
“I feel this is the time that we need to stand up for our rights. We deserve a raise. Cost of living is going up and our raises are not going along with the cost.”
CUPE national staff representative Dave Dickson said educational workers such as custodians and EAs are “so important” to school operations and stressed their need for better pay.
“You've got people working two and three jobs … (going to) food banks, not being able to pay their bills,” he said. “It just keeps getting worse every year.”
Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation District 17 member and North Simcoe Musoka District Labour Council representative Amylee Patterson viewed the government’s Thursday legislation as an attack on democracy.
“(It feels like) we're no longer a democracy, and that we're no longer engaging in Charter rights, like fair bargaining and conversation and negotiations, and all the things that this country is built on,” she said.
Patterson said she feels there’s a “war” on Ontario’s lowest paid workers, and on women – who, she stressed, make up the bulk of the educational workforce.
“I think there's a war on our most vulnerable workers, our lowest paid workers,” she said. “What we’ve really got here is an attack on it by the Ford government, squarely, on predominantly working, underpaid mothers.”
Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop’s office provided a statement from Lecce when asked to comment on the strike.
“All along, we made a promise: to do whatever it takes to keep kids in class. We will keep that promise,” the statement said.
Lecce said the government has made attempts to reach a fair deal, but CUPE ultimately forced them to pass Bill 28, the Keeping Students in Class Act.
“After demanding a nearly 50 per cent increase in compensation, CUPE threatened to strike. Since then, we’ve been at the table. Right up to the last minute, we’ve made good faith efforts to reach a fair deal,” the statement said. “But all along, CUPE refused to take strikes and disruption off the table. Even today, CUPE refused to take strikes and disruption off the table.
“For the sake of Ontario’s two million students…to keep classrooms open, they’ve left us with no choice but to pass the Keeping Students in Class Act.”
--With files from Erika Engel
