The provincial leadership of the Canadian Union of Public Employees has provided notice to the Ontario government that they intend to go on strike (full withdrawal of services) beginning Monday, November 21 if a collective agreement cannot be reached by then.
Friday, November 18 is a PA Day, and strike action would commence on Monday.
CUPE represents about 500 employees of the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board including Educational Assistants (EAs), Designated Early Childhood Educators (DECEs), Child and Youth Workers (CYWs) and other paraprofessionals such as Psychologists, Sign Language Interpreters and Psychotherapists.
“Our intention is to keep schools open for as many students as possible, so in order to continue in-person learning, and in the interest of health and safety for staff and students, we have developed contingency plans to do that,” read a statement on the WECDSB website.
In the event of a strike, all non-CUPE staff will be expected to report to work as usual.
Any students who are not in JK/SK programs, do not have complex learning needs, and have not been contacted by their school will be expected to attend school in person according to their regular schedule. Here is how we intend to continue operating regarding all those students who will be directly impacted in the event of a strike.
Students with complex learning needs:
Principals will be contacting families of students with complex learning needs to discuss alternative program arrangements as a result of the withdrawal of CUPE support services, specifically Educational Assistants, in the interest of health and safety. School teams will work with families to provide appropriate learning materials according to each student’s Individual Education Plan that could be used at home.
Full Day Kindergarten programs (JK/SK):
In order to address the withdrawal of CUPE services which includes our Designated Early Childhood Educators in our full day kindergarten classrooms, the Board has developed an alternating day schedule for student attendance. Details of this schedule will be communicated directly to parents/guardians by their respective schools. On the days that JK/SK students are not scheduled to attend school, parents/guardians will need to make appropriate alternative arrangements for their children.
Childcare:
Childcare centers that currently operate in our schools will remain open.
In the meantime, we will continue to hope and pray that negotiations between the Ontario government, the leaders of various trustees’ associations and the provincial leaders of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) will result in a satisfactory agreement for all and that a strike can be averted.
“We will continue to provide updates as they become available.” concluded the statement on the Board’s website.
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