Over 55,000 public sector education workers strike in Ontario in violation of new law
Ontario #Ontario
Over 55,000 public sector education workers started a strike in Ontario, Canada, in violation of a new law, which fines school support staff $4,000 per day of striking.
The new law, labeled “draconian” by critics, was fast-tracked by conservative Ontario Premier Doug Ford earlier this week, the Guardian reported, in response to news of the planned strike. Negotiations with the government broke down after news of the strike broke, resulting in the government refusing to continue unless it was called off, despite major concessions such as the Canadian Union of Public Employees halving its original salary demands. The government has expressed dedication to go through with collecting the exorbitant fines for the strikers, including a $500,000-per-day fine on the union, costing in total an estimated $200 million a day.
ONTARIO PARLIAMENT MOVES FORWARD WITH FOUR-DAY WORKWEEK LEGISLATION
“Nothing matters more right now than getting students back in the classroom and we will use every tool available to us to do so,” provincial education minister, Stephen Lecce, said in a statement.
In response to criticism from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ford justified his harsh reaction on Twitter.
“I spoke with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and made clear that shutting down classrooms would have an unacceptable impact on students. I reiterated that Ontario is determined, if necessary, to pass legislation to keep classrooms open and ensure stability for parents and students,” he wrote.
The union represents custodians, early childhood educators, and educational assistants, among other low-earning school employees. Their original demands were an 11.3% increase in its members’ wages, in response to rising costs of living due to inflation, which has battered much of the Western world. The government countered with a 2.5% annual raise for the lowest-income workers and a 1.5% annual raise for others, a stipulation they included in the bill that criminalized striking. The union lowered its demand by half but isn’t accepting the government’s counteroffer.
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Ford’s government attempted to petition Ontario’s labor board to force the strikers back to work but was denied.
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Tags: News, Canada, Strike, Unions, Workers
Original Author: Brady Knox
Original Location: Over 55,000 public sector education workers strike in Ontario in violation of new law