CUASA Statement in Support of CUPE Ontario Education Workers

November 1, 2022

CUASA Statement in Support of CUPE Ontario Education Workers

Carleton University Academic Staff Association (CUASA) extends support to the educational workers of Ontario and condemns the Government of Ontario’s high-handed back-to-work legislation that infringes upon the rights to protest and free and fair collective bargaining.

The educational workers of Ontario are united under the Ontario School Board Council of Unions (OSBCU), comprising of 55,000 Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) workers across public, Catholic, English, and French school systems in the province. They are the education assistants, school library workers, administrative assistants, custodians and tradespeople, early childhood educators, child and youth workers, instructors, nutrition service workers, school safety monitors, and social workers in our school system, and it is impossible to overstate their importance in the running of our schools and the well-being of our children.

On average, these workers earn $39,000 CAD per annum and have been demanding fair wages and increases in hiring to support all students. The government’s strong-arm tactic is aimed to deny these already vulnerable workers their ability to negotiate for better wages and working conditions.

It is shameful that the Ontario government would try to prevent a strike using legislation that is contrary to the rights afforded under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. CUASA stands in solidarity with OSBCU workers and urges the government to abandon its planned legislation and get back to the table and engage in free and fair negotiations.

Use this tool from the Ontario Federation of Labour to send an email to the Premier, the Minister of Education, and your MPP in support of OSBCU: https://ofl.ca/action/email-hands-off/