Ontario: The union, representing thousands of education workers who went on strike, said they would return to work in the morning after the Ford government offered to repeal a law that allegedly imposed contracts on education workers.
“We have got our bargaining rights back,” the Ontario School Board Council of Unions of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (COUP) said in a press conference on Monday.
We’ll be back to work in the morning. On Monday morning, Premier Doug Ford said his government was ready to repeal the back-to-work law and would also ban the use of the not-with-holding clause, provided the education workers’ union agreed to end the strike.
Laura Walton, president of CUPE’s Ontario School Board Council of Unions said, “We hope that the government will also trust us during the negotiations and accept our legitimate demands.” “We are ready for talks right now,” he said. The union officials also said that they have been given in writing by the province that if they end the strike, the government will also repeal Bill 28.
Minister of Education Stephen Lecce issued a statement confirming that the government would also repeal Bill 28 in the event of coupe ending the strike. The talks will resume at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday through a mediator, he said.
Premier Doug Ford said, “I’m glad CUPE has agreed to withdraw its strike action so kids can return to class. We’ll be back at the table to negotiate a fair deal — for students, parents, workers and taxpayers.”