Nov 07, 2022
By Angus Gillespie
Parents are breathing at least a temporary sigh of relief now that a compromise has been reached between Doug Ford’s Ontario government and the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the union representing about 55,000 education workers.
Today’s news opens the door to CUPE and the government to return to the bargaining table.
The union response came just hours after Ford’s pledge to repeal Bill 28 legislation in its entirety if the union ended its strike. Passage of the notwithstanding clause would have taken away workers’ rights to strike.
CUPE’s Laura Walton confirms that all education workers will be back at work tomorrow.
Followng the union’s response, Premier Ford tweeted out the following: “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.”
Early childhood educators, educational assistants and custodians are among those impacted, and had gone on strike as of Friday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked about the latest developments saying he would not reopen the constitution to debate the use of the notwithstanding clause.
The government will table the legislation to repeal Bill 28 next Monday. The legislature is not sitting this week and is not being recalled.
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