CUPE to End Strike After Ontario Promises to Rescind Notwithstanding Clause
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) says it will end its strike of over 55,000 education workers across Ontario following a promise by the provincial government to rescind its use of the notwithstanding clause if the workers return to schools.
“We have received and can confirm that the premier will introduce and support legislation that will repeal Bill 28 in its entirety,” said Laura Walton, president of the CUPE Ontario School Board Council of Unions, during a press conference on Nov. 7.
In response to CUPE threatening province-wide strikes if educational workers were not given annual raises of 6 percent, the Ontario government passed Bill 28, also known as the Keeping Students in Class Act, to set a 2.5 percent annual wage increase for workers making under 43,000 per year, and a 1.5 raise for those earning more….