Education workers’ union to issue results of strike vote amid talks with province

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Published October 3, 2022 at 7:47 am

School education worker

A union representing thousands of education workers in Ontario is expected to announce today whether its members support going on strike amid contract talks with the province.

Members with the Canadian Union of Public Employees have been voting on a potential strike mandate from Sept. 23 to Oct. 2, and the union plans to unveil the results at a news conference this morning.

CUPE has asked the province for annual raises of 11.7 per cent, equal to about $3.25 per hour, arguing workers’ wages have been restricted over the last decade and are not enough to keep up with inflation.

It says the Ford government is offering a two- per-cent raise to education workers making less than $40,000 a year and a 1.25- per-cent wage hike to everyone else, which it says amounts to between 33 and 53 cents an hour.

CUPE represents 55,000 workers including early childhood educators, school administration workers, bus drivers and custodians.

Labour deals for Ontario’s five major education unions expired on Aug. 31, and CUPE is scheduled to resume bargaining talks with the province on Thursday.

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