Courtesy Canadian Union of Public Employees

A potential strike is looming that will impact education workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees’ Ontario School Boards Council of Unions.

The union has received a ‘no board’ report in their contract talks with the province and school boards.

It puts education workers in a legal strike position on November 3.

Union president Laura Walton is still looking to reach a deal at the table.

“We started mediation (Monday) morning, and we still want to reach a negotiated agreement that will guarantee service improvements for students, help solve school boards’ problems hiring and keeping qualified employees, and secure a significant wage increase for the lowest-paid frontline education workers that’s long overdue,” says Walton.

Wages remain one of the big stumbling blocks to reaching a deal.

The union is seeking a $3.25 increase for all workers.

“Earning just $39,000 a year on average, we’re the lowest-paid education workers in Canada’s richest province. We expect the Ford government to show they understand that we’ve already involuntarily taken an 11 per cent pay cut over last decade, and now we very literally cannot afford sky-high inflation,” says Walton.

The two sides are scheduled to continue mediated talks today and tomorrow.

If no settlement is reached, the union must still give five days notice before acting on any strike action.

The Ontario School Boards Council of Unions represents workers that include educational assistants, early childhood educators, school library workers, administrative assistants, secretaries, and custodians.

They voted earlier this month 96.5 per cent to support a strike as a means of backing their contract demands.