CUPE has announced its intentions to escalate to a full strike as of Monday, October 7 if there isn’t an agreement in place by the end of Friday.
Earlier this week, CUPE announced that it had initiated a “work to rule” campaign in which teaching assistants will no longer work overtime and perform 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 is not to replace paper, perform photocopier repairs, find replacements for absent staff or administer medication.
The full strike will see members conduct a withdrawal of all services.
The Near North District School Board says that they are assessing the situation and confirming details of the strike. They are also advising that the strike may cause schools to close and that parents should begin to make alternate childcare arrangements prior to the strike.
The Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic School Board says that “the safety of students and faculty is the priority and that the withdrawal of CUPE services will be considered through this lens.”
They add that contingency planning is underway and that schools remain open for the time being.
If the strike goes through, there will be 524 workers in the North Bay 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: 40 custodians and maintenance staff
Talks earlier this week between the provincial government and CUPE stalled which led to the “work to rule” campaign.