If education workers head to the picket lines on Monday, it won’t affect public schools in Waterloo Region but Catholic schools will be forced to move to remote learning.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) gave a five-day strike notice on Wednesday after bargaining with the province failed, which means workers will walk off en masse on Monday if the two sides cannot come together on a deal.
The Waterloo Catholic District School Board has about 1,200 employees who are part of CUPE, which is enough to close the schools.
“CUPE and the government have negotiation dates scheduled up to and including Sunday November 20, 2022,” a letter from the WCDSB to parents read.
“It is our hope that a deal will be reached before Monday’s strike date and kids can come to school as normal.”
The Catholic board went on to say that if there is a strike, schools will be forced to close again.
“If a strike occurs, and schools are closed to in-person attendance, we will move directly to synchronous remote learning,” the letter continued.
“Chromebooks will be available to students who need them in advance of any school closure.”
The Waterloo Region District School Board also sent a letter to parents on Thursday that reminded them that none of its employees are members of CUPE so school will remain open on Monday.
This will be the second time CUPE members have walked off the job as they were away for two days earlier this month after the province enacted legislation that imposed a contract on them and took away their right to strike.
— with files from The Canadian Press