Ontario education worker strike

Ontario education workers represented by CUPE announced yesterday that they plan to begin full strike action starting Monday, October 7, after they were unable to reach an agreement that secured services for students and fair compensation for education workers.

ACFO-ACAF supports our fellow unionized workers as they exercise their rights. That said, our focus is always on assisting and supporting our community.

The planned strike will affect the English Catholic School Board and both French Catholic and public school boards in Ottawa, among others, and in many cases will result in school closures. If your family will be affected by these closures, we encourage you to begin planning now.

If your workplace supports it, you may request telework. In either case, it is incumbent on you to make alternate childcare arrangements and ensure that your duties are performed as usual.

While Article 37 of the FI public service collective agreement does specify you are entitled to take leave for family-related responsibilities “to provide for the employee’s child in the case of an unforeseen closure of the school or daycare facility,” the advance announcement of the strike means that these closures are no longer unforeseen. Thus, leave for family-related responsibilities is unlikely to apply in this instance.

If you have any questions or require assistance, feel free to contact Labour Relations at labourrelations@acfo-acaf.com or 1-877-728-0695.