Ontario education workers are headed back to the bargaining table after the provincial government agreed to rescind Bill 28, which made strike action illegal.
CUPE went on strike Friday, protesting the legislation, with picket lines in front of local MPP offices. Schools throughout the province closed or planned to close early this week, leading to Ford offering to rescind the legislation.
According to CUPE president Laura Walton, the way the bill is being repealed will “ensure that the legislation will be deemed it was never a law in Ontario in the first place.”
CUPE accepted the offer, meaning CUPE workers can return to work Tuesday morning.
Wellington Catholic District School Board will reopen to in-person instruction starting Tuesday. That includes community use of the school, and extra-curricular activities.
Meanwhile, Upper Grand District School Board schools will not shift to virtual learning as planned, and all schools will remain open for in-person learning.
“We recognize the uncertainty of this situation has been stressful on students, families, and staff and appreciate their patience and understanding as we have responded to the situation,” communications officer Alison Wilson said in an email.
Walton said they hope by returning to the bargaining table, the government will meet them with a new proposal.
However, another strike isn’t off the table.
In a press conference Monday, Walton said she hopes to return to the bargaining table later tonight, but that they’re willing to strike again if talks fall through.
“Because that’s the right of all workers in free collective bargaining,” Walton said.
“Let’s not forget why this all started,” she said. “Because the Ford government didn’t want to pay workers, the lowest paid education workers in this province, a living wage.”
Ford, meanwhile, blamed school closures on CUPE, saying in a press conference Monday morning that "they're the ones who called the strike. They're the ones who walked away from the negotiating table. We're very flexible. It's amazing that we can get deals with 98 per cent of other unions. But we can't with CUPE. Why?”
However, Walton said they "never left the table. Our goal has been and it remains to get a fair deal that respects workers, students and families."
Ford didn't state whether he would ever consider reinstating the legislature Walton called "draconian."
Eighteen unions stood with CUPE, representing millions of private and public sector workers across Canada – including the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association, the Ontario Secondary Schools teacher federation.
Lana Payne, national president of Unifor, said they were willing to take “whatever action was needed to defeat Bill 28.”
That support remains as CUPE returns to the bargaining table.
“Canada’s unions are ready to come back and rally once again and do whatever it takes to get this done,” said Bea Bruske, the president of the Canadian Labour Congress.
Lana Payne, the national president of Unifor, said that they “were and are prepared to vigorously oppose this law. Last evening, our national executive board voted unanimously to take whatever action was needed to defeat Bill 28.”
OPSEU president JP Hornick agreed, saying they “are not standing down, we are standing by.”
