Local unions representing education workers in London, Ont., are frustrated over the status of local bargaining discussions with the Thames Valley District School Board.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 4222 and Local 7575 say the school board has spread out bargaining dates for months since a central agreement was made with the province near the end of last year.
Rebecca Avey, CUPE Local 7575 president, said that because of these ongoing delays, a deal has yet to be ratified.
“None of the central agreement is really in place for us until we ratify the local agreement, which gives us the entire collective agreement,” she said. “So all those benefits and those negotiated items are not available to our members until our local ratification is done.”
CUPE announced the results of the provincial ratification vote back on Dec. 5, which saw 73 per cent of those who voted were in favour of endorsing the proposed contract with the government.
This ratification ended a “whirlwind bargaining process” which saw about 55,000 education workers stage a province-wide strike for two days back in the fall after the government passed — then later repealed — legislation that imposed a four-year contract on them, banned them from striking, and used the notwithstanding clause to allow the override of certain charter rights.
Both sides later returned to the table and brokered a tentative deal on Nov. 20 that the union said comes with a $1-per-hour raise each year, or roughly 3.59 per cent annually, for the average worker.
The workers who were not in favour of the deal said they were concerned about a lack of services in classrooms, such as the number of educational assistants and early childhood educators, explained Laura Walton, president of CUPE’s Ontario School Board Council of Unions.
CUPE had initially been seeking annual salary increases of 11.7 per cent, overtime at twice the regular pay rate, and 30 minutes of paid prep time per day for educational assistants and ECEs.
Get breaking National news
Walton — who said she did not like the deal because of a lack of staffing level guarantees — said about 76 per cent of the union’s members voted during the ratification process.
But now into the new year, as Avey expressed, education workers in London have yet to reap the benefits of the set deal.
“We set dates, and we negotiate what is fair for both parties, (but) we haven’t been able to do that as much as we’d like,” she said, referencing ongoing bargaining discussions with TVDSB. “There’s been, unfortunately, a bit of stalling that we feel on the employer part, because it has been so long.
“We feel that our proposals are good,” Avey continued. “They’re good for education workers in Thames Valley, they’re good for Thames Valley management, and they’re good for students and parents. So, we’re just encouraging now that Thames Valley come to the table, negotiate what is fair to show education workers for Thames Valley that they respect the work we do, and that they’re going to give us the means that we need in order to continue to do that work.”
In an email to Global News, TVDSB sent the following statement:
The Thames Valley District School Board is continuing to meet with the bargaining units of CUPE 4222 and CUPE 7575.
We very much value the work of all CUPE members and remain committed to ongoing, collaborative discussions at the table to best meet the service needs of the school board. As we are actively bargaining with CUPE units, specifics about the bargaining process or items being discussed cannot be disclosed to the public.
As per the School Board Collective Agreement Act, discussion of items such as salaries and benefits are determined at the provincial level, while local bargaining matters centre around working conditions unique to Thames Valley.
We look forward to a continued dialogue with the bargaining units of CUPE 4222 and CUPE 7575.
CUPE 7575 is comprised of educational and instructional assistants, while CUPE 2444 is made up of workers such as custodians, secretaries, early childhood educators, plus IT and maintenance workers.
In response to the ongoing negotiation delays with the local school board, Avey said, “We live in a world where there isn’t a lot of time, and every time needs to be juggled and we respect that. But we figure that four months is enough time.”
“Our proposals were not significant as far as funding because that’s all been taken care of. So, we’re just looking to support workers and students within our own communities and with our own school board in order to make things just that little bit better for everyone,” she said.
Avey said that the next bargaining discussion with the school board will be held this coming Monday at 5:30 p.m., during the special education advisory committee meeting.
“(There are) almost 4,000 education workers in the Thames Valley School Board, (and) if they’re forced to go out on strike, it has a huge impact on students, parents, the employer themselves and our stakeholders,” she said. “We don’t want that, and we need to share a message of we’re prepared to negotiate, we want to negotiate, but if that doesn’t happen, then unfortunately we’re forced to follow through on our mandated strike vote.”
In an email sent to local CUPE members earlier this week, union officials are also calling on education workers in London to attend the meeting wearing purple shirts and “show their strength in numbers.”
“We need to remember how we won last fall,” read the email. “Let’s use the same methods of organizing members to participate in their bargaining again.
“When we are united and show our solidarity by taking action together — that’s when we can win.”
In looking towards the future, Avey added that her hope is that both sides can “come to a common ground” in negotiating a settlement that allows the best options for not just workers and the school board, but for parents and students as well.
“We just want good and fulsome conversations about how we can support all factors, being workers, parents, students, and the school board and kind of come to that agreement where we can do that without any further action, (which) would be my ideal for sure,” she said. “We want to have things in place to promote success and to be successful. And like I said, nobody wants to go on strike, we definitely do not want to go on strike, and we would rather be in classrooms supporting students.
“Workers want to get a deal. They want to feel respected, and they want to continue on doing the work that they love.”
— with files from The Canadian Press.
Comments