On Sunday, October 30, CUPE education workers served their 5-day strike notice ahead of a final week of mediation with the provincial government. These education workers are some of the first groups to negotiate with the province after facing four years of Bill 124’s 1% wage caps.
In response, Premier Ford’s Education Minister Stephen Lecce invoked the Notwithstanding Clause and introduced back-to-work legislation to prohibit a strike and impose a contract on the 55,000 workers and still refuses to bargain. No government in Canada has ever taken this egregious action before.
The use of the Notwithstanding Clause to pass Back-to-Work legislation is an attack on all workers in Ontario. If he gets away with it, all other workers will face the same threat: contracts imposed by law instead of free collective bargaining.
CUPE education workers will defy this threat, and plan to picket on Friday November 4
Friday November 4: Show up at a Picket Line
Education workers are the backbone of Ontario’s public education system and we’re fighting for a good deal to ensure high-quality education and services for kids.
Whether you’re an education worker or an ally, come out to a picket line to send the Ford Conservatives a message and to secure a real deal.
In Toronto, picket lines will be set up at Queen’s Park from 8am-5pm. Additional picket locations are scheduled in communities across the province!
Find your closest picket line here – https://cupe.on.ca/dontbeabully/
Saturday November 5: Wear Purple for Education Workers
Wear your purple shirts on Saturday, November 5, 2022 to show your solidarity with striking education workers! Post your photos online or share with us at communications@unifor.org.
Tag @CUPEOntario in your content to show the Ford Conservatives that support is growing and far reaching!
Protect the Right to Strike
In Canada, workers have a Charter-protected right to engage in free and fair collective bargaining, and to withdraw our labour through a strike. The Supreme Court of Canada has repeatedly upheld these collective rights, and here’s why;
- The right to strike promotes dignity. Workers must be allowed to have a say in our own working conditions. This includes refusing working conditions that are imposed on us.
- The right to strike promotes equality. Deep inequalities exist between workers and employers. The possibility of a strike enables us as workers to negotiate on more equal footing.
For more information visit www.unifor.org