with files from Barrie 360
Toronto
Ontario's Ministry of Education is telling school boards ahead of an education worker strike Friday to make "every effort" to keep schools open and otherwise pivot to remote learning.
The government is expected to pass a bill today that would impose a contract on the workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees and ban them from striking, with steep fines if they don't comply.
But CUPE has said its workers, including educational assistants, custodians and administrative staff, will start a strike Friday "until further notice," even if the legislation passes and makes a walkout illegal.
!-- Begin Constant Contact Inline Form Code -->Many school boards across the province have said schools will be closed during a strike, while others plan to move to remote learning.
Both the public and catholic school boards in Simcoe County say schools will be closed on Friday.
Earlier this week, the Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) said it would keep schools open in the event of a CUPE strike. But that has changed now that the Ontario Public Service Employees Union announced on Thursday that it's 8,000 education workers will walk off the job Friday in solidarity with CUPE.
"In SCDSB schools, OPSEU represents educational assistants, secretarial support staff, child and youth workers, and information and technology staff. Although our intent was to remain open on Friday, the added threat of job action by OPSEU members, and the lack of the required five-day notification, has made it so that our schools cannot operate safely and effectively," the board said in a statement posted on its website.
"We will not be handing out technology at this time; however, should job action continue beyond Friday, we will work with families to determine need," the board added.
CUPE represents custodians and maintenance staff at the SCDSB.
There are no OPSEU members at the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board (SMCDSB), but CUPE does represent custodians at the board.
"Although we are not distributing technology on Friday, we are making plans to ensure students have the appropriate technology at home, so we can move to a synchronous remote learning model as soon as possible, if necessary," according to a statement on the SMCDSB website.
Trillium Lakelands District School Board, which covers public schools in Muskoka, has already said its schools will be closed on Friday.
The Ministry of Education now says in a memo obtained by The Canadian Press that school boards should "implement contingency plans, where every effort is made to keep schools open for as many children as possible."
If boards determine they can't safely open schools without the CUPE members, the ministry says "school boards must support students in a speedy transition to remote learning."
Banner image: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2022.
