Other bargaining proposals from CUPE include demands for minimum weekly hours of work for full-time staff and minimum vacation and leave standards
TORONTO — A union representing Ontario’s education workers has asked the province for an annual wage increase of 11.7 per cent — or $3.25 an hour — while the two sides work out a new collective bargaining agreement.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees — which represents 55,000 workers, including early childhood educators, school administrators, bus drivers and custodians — shared a summary of the bargaining proposals it tabled Tuesday as negotiations continue ahead of existing contracts expiring in the end of this month.
The union argued that workers’ wages had been constrained over the past decade and noted that inflation was expected to rise further. Pay rises for public sector workers have been capped at one per cent a year in recent years due to a controversial government bill.
CUPE said the average wage for permanent employees is currently $27.87, and the president of the Ontario Council of School Boards Unions said actions to limit education funding by the government and school boards have “put many educational workers on the edge of poverty’.
“Both students and workers deserve more than the crumbs this government is throwing at us, so my colleagues and I are prepared to fight for what students need in the classroom and what we need to do our jobs even better,” she said in a written statement.
Other education unions in the process of negotiating new contracts with the provincial government have also said they intend to fight for bigger raises to deal with skyrocketing living costs.
Statistics Canada said annual inflation for June was 8.1 per cent, the biggest increase since 1983.
The president of the Ontario Federation of Secondary School Teachers told The Canadian Press last month that her union is seeking a pay increase that keeps up with inflation and isn’t limited by legislation.
Premier Doug Ford said teachers would get a one percent raise in their new contracts, but did not specify an exact amount.
Other bargaining proposals from CUPE include demands for minimum weekly hours of work for full-time staff and minimum vacation and leave standards, as well as funding to extend benefits to more workers.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on CUPE’s proposed wage increase.
Negotiations were tense during the bargaining phase three years ago, when teachers took job-to-rule action at various points.
Both Lecce and Ford stressed at the start of this negotiation period that they do not want such work stoppages to happen again.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 2, 2022.
Holly McKenzie-Sutter, The Canadian Press
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