The ratification of the contract reached between the provincial government and Ontario school support workers follows months of friction between the union and the province, but not everyone is satisfied with the deal.
It was a long, tense negotiation that saw one short strike and another near-strike just a week later, but a deal has been reached and ratified as of this week.
Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) members, specifically school support staff, have ratified an agreement presented by the province that will last through 2026.
“Because of the Ford government and their absolute unwillingness to give in to anything or give us anything that we were asking for, they knew that this was probably the best deal that we were going to get,” CUPE Local 1480 president Erin Provost said of the motivation behind the ratification.
CUPE Local 1480 represents 1,200 school support workers for the Limestone District School Board.
Provost says the deal includes a $1-per-hour wage increase, but that sick leave remains unchanged and that the province would not include more funding for student supports, which CUPE said was the biggest snag in negotiations.
She added that, while the deal was accepted, the feelings about it vary widely across the employees.
“Some are angry, some are satisfied, negotiations just happen to be that way. Nobody’s ever going to be happy, nobody’s ever going to be perfectly content with what we end up with,” said Provost
Now that the negotiations are over, with the deal taking effect immediately, retroactive to Sept. 1, Provost says they don’t plan to sit on their laurels.
“That fight isn’t over and we’ll continue to pressure the government over the next four years to put some funding in place for students and to support public education instead of continuously slashing,” she said.
While school service workers continue their fight for student service funding, parents can now rest assured that further interruptions for their kids will be put to bed for the time being.