What happens now that Ontario education workers have given strike notice?

Ontario education support workers have yet again given notice of a strike.

The strike notice comes just days after the province rescinded legislation that imposed a contract on workers and prevented them from legally taking job action.

According to the union’s bargaining team, the decision to provide a five-day strike notice came after “many late hour attempts to achieve a freely negotiated settlement.”

Education support workers—including librarians, custodians and early childhood educators—took part in a two-day strike earlier this month after negotiations broke down.

According to the union, workers were given an ultimatum and told that unless they promised not to go on strike, the government would enact a bill that would prevent them from doing so. Both parties returned to the bargaining table after a compromise—the union would stop striking and the government would rescind their legislation.

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But what happens now that another strike notice has been issued?

Unless a deal is reached in the next five days, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) will walk off the job as early as Nov. 21.

Will schools close?

It is too early to tell, but during the last strike the majority of school boards in the Greater Toronto Area closed to in-person learning. Some schools offered virtual options while others remained closed for the duration of the strike.

The Toronto District School Board said Wednesday it is finalizing information and will share updates with families as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the Toronto Catholic Distric School Board has confirmed it would close all of its schools in the event of a strike.

Why are workers striking?

Laura Walton, president of CUPE’s Ontario School Board Council of Unions, told reporters Monday the two bargaining parties were still “far apart.”

The primary point of contention between CUPE and the government is salary. The union originally asked for an 11.7 per cent annual salary increase for their members due to years of wage freezes and rising inflation.

The province was offering a 2.5 per cent annual raise for workers who make under $43,000, and a 1.5 per cent yearly wage increase for those who make more. This is the deal that was imposed on workers as part of Bill 28—the “Keeping Students in Class Act”—that also prevented workers from striking.

• Ontario education workers' union files notice to go back on strike

Once the bill was rescinded, Premier Doug Ford said the government made an “improved offer” to the union.

Both parties have been rather tight lipped about what this offer entailed until Wednesday, when Walton told reporters the government put a $1 an hour raise on the table for each year of their collective agreement.

Walton said this amounts to about $1,633 more a year or an increase of 3.6 per cent.

“Let me be clear, that's a win for workers. But it's not enough,” she said. “It's not nearly what we deserve for the care and effort and incredible passion we put into our jobs. And it's certainly not enough to make up for a decade of having the government's hands in our pockets through legislative interference in our collective bargaining province.”

Education Minister Stephen Lecce said their offer was “fair and increases wages for all workers with an emphasis on the lowest paid workers.”

Can the union legally strike?

Yes. Now that Bill 28 has been rescinded, it is no longer illegal for education support workers to strike.

The union has technically been in a legal position to strike since mid-October; however they do need to provide five days notice prior to taking any new job action.

Will the government use the notwithstanding clause again?

Bill 28 used the notwithstanding clause to override sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to prevent education workers from striking.

The use of the notwithstanding clause—also known as Section 33 of the Charter—was widely condemned by labour unions, members of the opposition, and the Prime Minister of Canada.

“It is a very, very serious thing to suspend people’s fundamental rights and freedoms,” Justin Trudeau said in early November.

“The proactive use of the notwithstanding clause is actually an attack on people’s fundamental rights and, in this case, is an attack on one of the most basic rights available—that of collective bargaining.”

The government can use the notwithstanding clause again; however it is unclear if they will. Lecce did not clarify this when speaking with reporters on Wednesday, saying only that representatives will remain at the table to continue bargaining.

“I just think it's entirely unnecessary and frankly, it's unacceptable,” Lecce said of the strike notice.

Ford has previously said that striking was "more dangerous" than using the notwithstanding clause to override the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.