Both the Simcoe County and Simcoe Muskoka Catholic school boards will close Friday amid CUPE workers going on strike.
On Thursday morning, the Ontario Public Services Employees Union (OPSEU) released a memo encouraging their members to join their Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) colleagues by walking off the job on Friday, Nov. 4.
The Simcoe County District School Board had initially said earlier this week that it would not close classes as only maintenance and custody staff were impacted.
With OPSEU workers also set to participate in Friday’s strike, they have now decided to cancel class.
For the Simcoe County board, OPSEU represents educational assistants, secretarial support staff, child and youth workers, and information and technology staff.
The Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board has also decided to close Friday, stating that in “the absence of custodial staff, the learning environment would be unsafe for students.”
The Simcoe County board says students will receive assigned coursework through the virtual learning platform established by their teacher, but technology will not be handed out.
Students in the catholic board will be given work to complete independently on Friday.
Both boards say before-and-after-school programs, school transportation services, community use of schools and extracurricular activities will also be cancelled on Friday.
The Simcoe County board said child-care centres operated by third-party providers at SCDSB school will continue.
Should the job action continue after Friday, both bodes say they will work with families to ensure they have the necessary technology.
The Catholic board will move students to an online learning model if needed.
Families are being encouraged to find alternative arrangements for their children in case this labour unrest continues beyond this week.
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