Talks between CUPE and the provincial government have stalled.
CUPE has initiated a ‘work to rule’ campaign where teaching assistants will no longer work overtime and performing extra duties. For custodians, that means not cleaning hallways, office areas or gymnasiums, cutting school lawns or emptying garbage cans outside of the school. Clerical staff are not to replace paper, perform photocopier repairs, find replacements for absent staff or administer medication.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce said that CUPE had accepted a government offer of new mediation dates, but hours later, the president of CUPE’s Ontario School Board Council of Unions refuted Lecce’s statement, saying that there were no dates offered and that the parties remained too far apart to return to the table.
There will be 524 workers in the area affected:
- Conseil Scolaire Publique du Nord Est de L’Ontario: 167custodians, early childhood educators and education assistants
- Near North District School Board: 317 custodians, maintenance staff, clerical and technical employees
- Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board: 40custodians and maintenance staff