Education workers ending walkout as Ontario pledges to repeal law

Under pressure, Premier Doug Ford says he will repeal law forcing 55,000 workers to accept contract in Canadian province.

A union representing about 55,000 striking education workers in Canada’s most populous province has said it will end its walkout after Ontario Premier Doug Ford promised to rescind contentious back-to-work legislation if the union agreed to end the strike.

Laura Walton, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees’ (CUPE) Ontario School Board Council of Unions, said on Monday that workers “will be collapsing [their] protest sites starting tomorrow”.

“We hope that this gesture is met with the same good faith by this government in a new proposal at the bargaining table as soon as possible,” Walton said during a news conference, adding that workers would be back in schools on Tuesday morning.

Custodians, maintenance and library workers, secretaries and other education support staff walked off the job on Friday after the Ontario government passed legislation forcing them to accept a contract and banning them from striking.

I’m glad CUPE has agreed to withdraw its strike action so kids can return to class. We’ll be back at the table to negotiate a fair deal — for students, parents, workers and taxpayers.

— Doug Ford (@fordnation) November 7, 2022

Ontario invoked a contentious section of Canada’s constitution known as the notwithstanding clause to temporarily suspend sections of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and pre-empt court challenges to the legislation.

That spurred widespread condemnation and anger with civil rights groups saying “everyone’s rights are at stake.”

Ford on Monday said his right-wing government would be willing to rescind the legislation and its use of the notwithstanding clause “but only if CUPE agrees to show a similar gesture of good faith by stopping their strike and letting our kids back into their classroom”.

“Let’s get back to the table, and let’s negotiate a fair deal,” the premier told reporters.

The four-year contract imposed on workers included raises of 1.5 to 2.5 percent – far lower than the union demanded to meet the surging cost of living.

The legislation also included a daily $2,968 (4,000-Canadian-dollar) fine for striking workers, which the union has said it will fight or pay if needed.

“Let’s not forget why this all started,” Walton said. “This started because the Ford government didn’t want to pay workers, the lowest-paid education workers in this province, a living wage.”

The workers’ protest has drawn support across Canada, and local media outlets reported that CUPE was considering launching a general strike next weekend, piling pressure on Ford to relaunch negotiations with the union.

An Abacus Data poll released on Sunday found that 62 percent of Ontarians blamed the province for the strike, which has forced the closure of hundreds of schools to in-person learning.

More than seven in 10 residents said they wanted the Ford government to negotiate a fair deal to end the strike, the poll found, while 78 percent said the average salary for Ontario education workers – $28,900 (39,000 Canadian dollars), according to CUPE – was not enough.

“These workers … deserve a deal that has been freely negotiated, that keeps them out of poverty and allows them to meet the needs of their students,” Walton said.

One reason why Ontarians want the provincial government to negotiate a fair deal with education workers is that about half think they don’t make enough money.

In fact, 78% of Ontarians say that making $39,000 per year is not enough.

More here: https://t.co/mbVoPjnPMi pic.twitter.com/eLq4PwKwoJ

— Abacus Data (@abacusdataca) November 7, 2022