Ontario parents have once again found themselves scrambling to make plans for their kids, who have only recently returned to normal classrooms after two years of COVID disruptions.
This time the disruption has been a strike or demonstration, call it what you will, involving education workers. Whether it was full-scale back-to-computer learning, at least for those who have access to a computer and internet, plus a computer-literate adult to supervise, guide and provide IT support, some sort of half-measure that allowed in-classroom learning but no extracurriculars, or a sane and sensible resolution, remains to be seen.
The province’s initial solution was to legislate the workers back to work with an imposed contract containing a wage increase that is far less than what the union asked for, along with heavy penalties for failure to comply, and the threat of using the notwithstanding clause in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to block any constitutional challenges – no appeals, no negotiations, do not pass go, do not collect $200. As of press time, it appeared sanity may prevail. One can only hope.
The threat to the entire collective bargaining process in this country virtually ensured the involvement of other, larger unions with national and international connections. The prospect of a general strike apparently was not one the province or union wanted to toy with.
While attention is increasingly focused on the large picture – national and international impacts, and the entire collective bargaining system – it might be time to narrow the focus to the 55,000 Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) education workers.
These workers do not earn huge salaries. In fact, they are among the lowest paid in schools, earning an average of $39,000 – custodians, maintenance workers, educational assistants, library staff, office staff and the like. The province initially offered those earning less than $43,000 per year a 2.5 per cent increase, and 1.5 per cent for those earning more.
To narrow the focus a bit further, in September, Canada’s inflation rate stood at 6.9 per cent. Rental apartments – if you can find one – cost a fortune. The cost of food and fuel is skyrocketing.
Keeping up with, or ahead of inflation is not the aim of the game. The aim of the game is to give hard working people who fill important roles in education the right to negotiate for what they feel is a fair living wage.
Education workers are not driving luxury vehicles and vacationing at first-class resorts. These are the folks who pray the 10-year-old gas guzzler will last the winter, who vacation at the local conservation area and who have come a hair’s breadth a time or two from going to the food bank or looking for a second job.
They are also the people who make it possible for special-needs children to attend school safely with their friends, who are standing by when body fluids of various types end up on the classroom floor, and whose efforts allowed all children to return to the classroom when COVID was still sweeping across the province.
The collective bargaining process came into being at a time when wages were low and working conditions were deplorable. As individuals, workers had no rights or power, but as a group, were able to negotiate on more equal terms with management.
It should be noted that many unions stepped forward in solidarity with CUPE education workers. There is strength in numbers. And there is more to this situation than kids in classrooms where they belong. Those classrooms must be well-ventilated and clean, with qualified individuals to provide the support needed by teaching staff. Education workers have a right to earn a decent salary that reflects both the important work they do, and the cost of living in this province.
If the province cannot ensure education workers can maintain a decent and affordable standard of living for themselves and their families, then the province must allow the workers the right to negotiate for a wage that makes that possible. Anything less is unfair.
