The union representing 55,000 school support staff will return to the bargaining table this weekend, but says its members will begin working to rule on Monday if no deal is reached.

The school board unit of the Canadian Union of Public Employees has provided the required five days’ notice of its impending job action, which would impact 63 public and Catholic school boards, but also said it had accepted an offer to resume negotiations.

“We’ve always said that any job action we take will have at its heart the protection of education services for students,” Laura Walton, president of CUPE’s Ontario School Board Council of Unions, said Wednesday.

“And this year we’ve seen those services decimated: school libraries closed over students’ lunch breaks because there aren’t enough library workers ... eight or nine students with special needs now supported by a single education assistant; communications with parents affected because some schools have lost their school secretaries ... If it takes job action to restore these services, then so be it. This is something worth fighting for.”

CUPE, the province and Council of Trustees’ Associations are now set to meet Saturday and Sunday, but Walton said the job action will proceed as planned if talks are unsuccessful.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce said “as talks resume, we are getting right back to work with CUPE and the employers so that we can land a deal that keeps our kids in class.”

Lecce said “if we want a deal in this province, it can be had.”

However, he expressed concerns about plans for a work-to-rule campaign, saying “as that ramps up ... that experience could compromise the safety of students.”

The province continues to bargain with all other education unions.

CUPE represents school custodians, early childhood educators, office staff and educational assistants, among others, who earn an average of $38,000 a year.

Their numbers have taken a hit as some boards struggled to balance their budgets, including in Toronto, where almost 300 support staff jobs were axed.

As part of their work-to-rule action — which the union has said will not impact student safety — custodians will clean classrooms and washrooms but not hallways, office areas or gyms, nor will they do any outdoor work. Office staff will not administer medication to students nor answer door buzzers.

CUPE staffers are prohibited from conducting lice checks, taking part in or assisting with school fundraisers, or helping out with breakfast or lunch programs.

On Tuesday, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation took the unusual step of announcing it would post online all of its contract proposals, costs and updates, in a bid to be open and transparent with its members and the public.

The Ford government is increasing high school class sizes from an average of 22 to 28 over the next four years, phasing out thousands of teaching positions.

Lecce has told the union that if it can find savings elsewhere, plans to boost class sizes could be staved off.

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He signalled Wednesday that he is not keen on so-called open bargaining. “I will negotiate at the table,” he said. “It is the only place deals are reached.”

In Saskatchewan, where teacher unions are also engaging in open bargaining, the government there recently announced it would also do so.

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