Here’s which schools will be closed in Mississauga, Brampton, Halton, Hamilton, Durham and Niagara in the event of a CUPE strike
Published November 3, 2022 at 11:46 am
UPDATE: Schools set to close tomorrow as negotiations between Province and CUPE break down
With a possible education workers’ strike looming, school boards across Ontario–including those in Peel, Halton, Hamilton, Durham and Niagara–are making plans to close (perhaps with a switch to virtual learning) on Friday, Nov. 4.
As of today (Nov. 3), 55,000 education workers–including custodians, early childhood educators and educational assistants–represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) plan to walk off the job tomorrow if a deal with the Ontario government is not reached. The Ontario Public Service Employees Union also announced that its 8,000 education workers–many of whom work in Brampton and Mississauga schools–will also walk out in solidarity with striking CUPE workers.
CUPE says the workers plan to be on strike beyond Friday unless a deal is reached.
The Province is expected to pass legislation today that would impose a contract on CUPE education workers and ban them from striking.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce says he won’t negotiate further unless the union cancels its strike. He says the government “has no choice” but to proceed with its legislation because of CUPE’s strike threat.
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Here’s what local boards are planning to do in the event of a CUPE strike:
Region of Peel: Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon
The Peel District School Board
Public school students in Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon are preparing for asynchronous online learning, which means that schools will be closed and students will have to attend class virtually.
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board
The DPCDSB will close all schools to in-person learning. According to the board, educators will post learning materials in their Learning Management System (LMS) and be available to students throughout the day. That said, there would be no synchronous remote teaching taking place.
Halton Region: Oakville, Burlington, Milton and Halton Hills
Halton District School Board
The Halton District School Board, which initially said it planned to keep public schools open through an alternate schedule of in-person and remote learning, now says that elementary and secondary schools will remain open for in-person learning each day.
Halton Catholic District School Board
The Halton Catholic District School Board plans to close all schools on Friday in the event of a strike. The board says it will move to remote asynchronous instruction and that schools will be reaching out to families directly to assess technology/device needs.
Hamilton
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board
The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board says that public schools will remain open if education workers decide to walk off the job on Nov. 4.
Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board
The board says that in the event of a CUPE strike, all Catholic schools will close on Nov. 4. According to the board, asynchronous learning will be available to students and supplementary school work will be posted on the myClass LMS
Durham Region: Ajax, Brock, Clarington, Oshawa, Pickering, Scugog, Uxbridge and Whitby
Durham District School Board
The board says that should the CUPE strike occur, all schools will be closed.
Durham Catholic District School Board
On its website, the board says that all school buildings will be closed to all students on Friday.
Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board
The board says all schools will close in the event of a strike on Nov. 4.
Peterborough, Victoria, Northumberland and Clarington Catholic School Board
The board says all schools will be closed on Nov. 4 to in-person learning and all students will transition to remote, asynchronous learning from home.
Niagara Region: Fort Erie, Grimsby, Lincoln, Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Pelham, Port Colborne, St. Catharines, Thorold, Wainfleet, Welland and West Lincoln
District School Board of Niagara
The board says that should a strike occur, all public elementary and secondary schools will close.
Niagara Catholic District School Board
The board says all schools will close in the event of a strike. Online learning resources will be available to students on the home page of the NCVLE on Friday.
The government originally offered raises of two per cent a year for workers making less than $40,000 and 1.25 per cent for all others, but says the new, imposed four-year deal would give 2.5 per cent annual raises to workers making less than $43,000 and 1.5 per cent raises for all others.
CUPE has said that framing is not accurate because the raises actually depend on hourly wages and pay scales, so the majority of workers who earn less than $43,000 in a year wouldn’t get 2.5 per cent.
CUPE has said its workers, which make on average $39,000 a year, are generally the lowest paid in schools and have been seeking annual salary increases of 11.7 per cent.
With files from The Canadian Press
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