

Chris Herhalt, CP24.com





The union representing thousands of school support workers says they'll be back at the bargaining table Friday to try and avoid a possible strike.

In a news release Wednesday evening, the union said that talks are scheduled to resume with the province and the school boards on Friday afternoon and that the union is willing to "bargain throughout the weekend in an effort to avoid the disruption that a full strike would bring to students, families and schools."

The development comes after the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) threatened to launch a strike that could potentially shutter some or all of the province’s public schools this Monday.

CUPE, which represents 55,000 education workers, said Wednesday it has given the legally required five days’ notice to begin a strike.

Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce had urged a resumption of talks Wednesday and told reporters the two sides weren’t far apart when they spoke on Sunday.

“We were close and I believe we can get a deal.”

He downplayed the union’s threat of going on strike early Wednesday, calling it “deadline bargaining.”

“We should really expend that energy at the table this week to get a deal.”

The represented workers, which include custodians, clerical workers and early childhood educators, started a work-to-rule campaign two day ago.

Custodians have stopped cleaning hallways and emptying garbage cans outside schools, clerical workers have stopped finding replacements for absent staff, and education workers have stopped working overtime.

The union says it is willing to return to the bargaining table to avoid a full strike.

Lecce said he remains open to having the two sides meet with a mediator “as soon as today.”

The threat of a strike did appear to push him to reveal what has been the thorniest issue in bargaining thus far, saying his side showed “flexibility” regarding language on job security but wanted to have a “sober conversation” about sick time.

He claimed CUPE union members’ sick leave costs the province $35 million per day, and that workers take an average of 15 sick days per year.

In the GTA, representatives from three major public school boards said they were each trying to figure out whether schools could remain open in the event of a strike, with varying degrees of confidence that it could be done.

In Toronto, Shari Schwartz-Maltz with the Toronto District School Board said schools have remained open during similar strikes in the past, but it would be a “challenge.”

“We’re concerned that parents are concerned,” she said, urging everyone to continue checking the TDSB website through the weekend for updates.

In Peel Region, the public board was forming a contingency plan on Wednesday, according to a spokesperson. However the board encouraged parents to start making alternate child care plans in the event that a strike results in school closures.

In York Region, public board spokesperson Miguelo Licinio said the board was busy making a contingency plan but school closures are possible.

“At this time, we are analyzing the effect of the full strike and have not finalized a decision on school closures, but are encouraging parents to begin making alternate arrangements,” he told CP24.

-- With files from the Canadian Press

Editor's Note: The Ministry of Education has since clarified that its calculation of $35 million per day is in fact a figure arrived at by dividing the total annual cost of sick leave in the education sector by the average number of sick days taken per staff member. It does not represent the average cost of sick leave per regular calendar school day.