The 55,000 union members will have until Dec. 5 to vote on ratification of the proposed four-year contract
Negotiations between the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Ford government resumed after the Nov. 16 strike notice filed by CUPE’s Ontario School Boards Council of Unions (OSBCU). The two parties reached a tentative deal on Nov. 20.
In a joint statement published on Nov. 22, President of CUPE National Mark Hancock and Secretary-Treasurer Candace Bennick congratulated the OSBCU bargaining committee for achieving a “breakthrough wage settlement,” which includes a one-dollar per hour wage increase over four years. For the lowest-paid employees, this represents an increase in earnings by 4.2 per cent.
In addition, the agreement states that education workers will be repaid lost wages for the two days of protest on Nov. 4 and Nov. 7.
Though, Hancock and Bennick said they were unable to “achieve all [education workers] sought in this round — namely, funding for additional, much-needed services.”
Voting to ratify the new resolution will conclude on Dec. 5, with results to be announced the following day.
