Parents with children in London-area schools are being told to prepare for the kids to be home next week.
The Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) and the London District Catholic School Board (LDCSB) have stated that if Ontario's 55,000 education workers walk off the job Monday, they will keep all of their schools closed.
Students will be shifted to online learning. The TVDSB said remote studies on Monday will be synchronous, which means students will learn in real-time with their teacher through Google Classroom or Brightspace. Remote studies for Catholic school students will be asynchronous, meaning lessons won't be delivered in real time, allowing students to work at their own pace, independently.
As Friday is a P.A. day for both school boards it is advised that students take all personal belongings, eyeglasses, medication, textbooks, and musical instruments home on Thursday.
In the event of job action, daycare centres, EarlyON Family Centres, before and after school programs, community use of schools, St. Patrick Adult and Continuing Education, family centres, co-op placements, after school tutoring, and International language programs will be closed or cancelled.
"CUPE represents roughly 1,300 of the LDCSB’s 3,500 employees, including educational assistants, designated early childhood educators, school office staff, custodial and maintenance staff, IT support staff, and others. We cannot safely operate schools with so many employees absent," the board said in a statement.
Around 2,500 CUPE members work full-time for the TVDSB, another 1,000 workers are in casual positions.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents education workers, filed a five-day strike notice Wednesday indicating if a labour agreement is not reached with the province its members will hit the picket lines. More negotiations between the two sides are scheduled throughout the weekend. Education workers last walked off the job on November 4, but returned to the classroom four days later after Premier Doug Ford pledged to rescind controversial legislation that used the notwithstanding clause to impose a contract and make striking illegal.
While some middle ground has been reached on worker wages since then, the union wants an early childhood educator placed in every kindergarten classroom, as well as more educational assistants, librarians, custodians, and maintenance workers hired to better support students and tackle a $16 billion repair backlog.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the province offered $335 million more over four years for CUPE workers alone.
"Our government fulfilled our end of the deal by putting forward significantly improved offers. CUPE has rejected all of these offers," said Lecce. "Ever so casually, they have again put the province on a path to a strike.
