Support staff at Ontario’s elementary schools are primed for a strike as contract talks between CUPE, its union, and the province have broken down. This would mean that custodians, administrative staff, and librarians would be absent from schools should a strike happen.
Both school boards representing the Kingston area are quiet about their potential responses.
“The ALCDSB are aware and are monitoring the situation, but have not made a decision at this point regarding contingency plans,” Algonquin Lakeshore Catholic District School Board communications officer Kelly Taylor said in an e-mail to Global Kingston.
For its part, the Limestone District School Board says it does have a plan in place, but is also monitoring the situation to see if it will need to be put into action.
“The decisions in this regard will be made based on circumstances as they evolve. Students and staff, health and safety and wellbeing are of paramount importance, and that’s actually going to be what guides all of our decisions,” Superintendent of Human Resources with LDSB, Susan McWilliams said.
CUPE is looking for annual salary increases of 11.7 per cent and the provincial government in response has offered raises of two per cent a year for workers making less than $40,000 and 1.25 percent for all other workers.
CUPE says despite students returning to the classroom, inflation and staffing shortages have meant schools are seeing unfilled positions daily and members stepping into roles they are not qualified for.
“You hear the 39 thousand is not enough and while that might be the average across the province across Kingston it’s significantly less. There are education workers making 32 and 33 thousand dollars,” CUPE local president, Erin Provost said.
Staff will be in a legal strike position as of Nov. 3.
— With files from Aryn Strickland
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