Education Minister Stephen Lecce has accused the union of \u0027trying to disrupt in\u002Dclass learning by refusing to compromise\u0027 on what he calls unreasonable demands
CUPE is looking for annual salary increases of 11.7 per cent and the government in response has offered raises of two per cent a year for workers making less than $40,000 and 1.25 per cent for all others.
Other than the proposal on wages, the government’s offer seeks to keep all other areas the same as the previous deal except for a cut to sick leave pay. “No one wants to strike, least of all the lowest-paid education workers who can barely pay our bills,” Laura Walton, president of CUPE’s Ontario School Boards Council of Unions, said in a statement Sunday. “Still, we need a significant wage increase and we deserve it.”
The Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board and the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic School Board said last week that a “full withdrawal of service” by CUPE would mean they would not be able to ensure safe conditions for students and staff.