Ontario to table legislation to prevent education worker strike: Minister

Ontario's education minister intends to introduce legislation Monday that will avert a looming support staff strike and impose a contract on them, a proposition the union said it is prepared to fight.

Ontario's education minister intends to introduce legislation Monday that will avert a looming support staff strike and impose a contract on them, a proposition the union said it is prepared to fight.

Stephen Lecce's announcement came hours after the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents about 55,000 education workers, announced that it was giving the required five days' notice to start a full strike on Friday. They are in a legal strike position on Thursday.

"Because CUPE refuses to withdraw their intent to strike, in order to avoid shutting down classes we will have no other choice but to introduce legislation tomorrow, which will ensure that students remain in-class to catch up on their learning," Lecce said in a statement late Sunday.

The government had been offering raises of two per cent a year for workers making less than $40,000 and 1.25 per cent for all others, but Lecce said the new deal would give 2.5-per-cent annual raises to workers making less than $43,000 and 1.5 per cent for all others.

CUPE has been seeking annual salary increases of 11.7 per cent as well as overtime at twice the regular pay rate, 30 minutes of paid prep time per day for educational assistants and ECEs, an increase in benefits and professional development for all workers.

Laura Walton, president of CUPE’s Ontario School Boards Council of Unions, said the government's move is not just an attack on the lowest-paid education workers, but on labour in general.

"This is concerning not just for our teacher allies, but I think for every single worker in this province," Walton said. "This is a government that is not working for workers and it's clear."