Could there be disruption for your children in the 2022, 2023 school Yyar? Looks so…

BY PAUL JUNOR

As Ontario schools get ready to open on Tuesday, September 6^th, 2022, the Ontario government is concerned that the state of bargaining between it and the Canadian Union of Public Employees may sour the school year.

In a roundtable on Tuesday, August 23^rd, Ontario Education Minister Stephen Leece spent a lot of time responding to the demands of the CUPE Ontario School Boards Council of Unions (OSBCU). An analysis of what the OSBCU proposed involves a wage increase of $3.25/hour in each year of the next agreement and pay casual employees the same rate as permanent employees. Minister Leece insists that these demands would lead to an 11% increase over the next four years and a $21 billion pay-out to education workers. He states that these are unreasonable demands in light of what the government is offering the union.

The government offers a 2% increase for members earning less than $40 000 per year and 1.25% for members who earn $40 000 or more per year. Minister Leece is not happy with OSBCU as he believes that potentially their pending strike vote may disrupt the 2022 -2023 school year. He reiterates, “Kids should be back in schools in September without disruptions. It is important to make sure that kids stay in schools from September to June. It is important to get away from the cyclical disruptions with respect to the bargaining with the union.”

In many ways, Minister Leece sees the teachers’ unions as an obstacle to the uninterrupted education of the students, and he is concerned that after two years of adjustments and disruptions because of the COVID-19 pandemic that there is a wholehearted focus on maximizing students’ learning. He maintains that the OSBCU is on a path to strike before they know the government’s offer. He hopes that a strike is averted and the union will accept their “reasonable offer” and sign a deal. He asked that the teachers’ unions stop their massive demands and focus on ensuring that kids are learning their reading, writing and mathematics skills.

His Parliamentary assistant, Patrice Barnes, joined Minister Leece at the roundtable. She is supportive of students returning to the normalcy of an in-person school year.  She states, “The system needs stabilization. It is disappointing the stance of the teachers’ union. We are standing with the message that kids need to be in school.”

She mentioned that the Ontario government has finally finalized the details of the childcare deal with the federal government that will see a $4,000 in savings which includes 25% by Christmas and 50% by next year. The deadline has been extended from September 8^th to November 1^st, to ensure that more for-profit day care comes on board. Currently, over 47% have opted to accept the plan that the Ontario government has finalized. There are still a lot of details that have to be ironed out so that parents, guardians, and caregivers have access to day care.