LDCSB Schools to Close if CUPE Strikes

Wednesday, 2 November 2022 at 06:08

By Marcie Culbert

All schools within the London District Catholic School Board will close if education workers walk off the job on Friday.

OXFORD/LONDON - In the event of an education worker strike, all schools within the London District School Board will close.

The school board says all students will participate in remote learning from home if staff members walk off the job on Friday.

It will also cancel all before and after-school programming, co-op placements, and school-based daycare centres.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees represents about 1,300 of London Catholic's 3,500 employees. This includes educational assistants, early childhood educators, custodians, and office administration staff.

You can read the full statement from the London District Catholic School Board online here. The Thames Valley District School Board released a similar statement Monday night, saying its schools will also close if education workers go on strike.

Meanwhile, the CUPE presented a counter-offer to the province late last night. This means negotiators will return to the bargaining table this morning, just days before the planned job action.

The Ford Government has tabled legislation that would impose contracts on them and ban them from hitting the picket lines on Friday. However, the union has stated that it still plans to stage a walkout if they don't reach an agreement before then.

The government's legislation includes a raise of 2.5 percent per year for workers with a salary less than $43,000 and annual raise of 1.5 percent for everyone else.

The union has not revealed what's in the counter-offer, but it was calling for annual raises of about 11.7 percent to keep up with inflation.

Labour Update: If there is a full withdrawal of services by CUPE education workers Nov 4: in-school classes will be cancelled + LDCSB schools will be closed to students + staff. Other programs/services will also be cancelled/closed. Details here: https://t.co/HnbFSDWFCR
— London District Catholic School Board (@LDCSB) November 1, 2022