Custodial and Maintenance Staff for the Bluewater District School Board
To all CUPE-OSBCU locals and CUPE staff servicing school board locals
Today Ontario’s Ministry of Education announced that it had filed Regulation 59/19, in accordance with the School Boards Collective Bargaining Amendment Act, 2017.
This regulation provides …. read more click here
In Solidarity
Thanks to everyone who took part in the Town Hall call on Thursday, 21 March. For those who weren’t able to call in, I am sending this bulletin as a summary of the points covered.
Locals are welcome to use this bulletin when talking to CUPE members and when reaching out to community organizations, parents’ councils and other allies who can support us in fighting the cuts.
On March 15, 2019 the Minister of Education made an announcement on changes to education and education funding in Ontario. The news focused on changes to class sizes, but buried within the documents that accompanied the announcement were cuts to education funding amounting to more than $282 million.
The Facebook event is available here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1984880421816601/
Folks need to sign up for a seat on the buses. The bus registration page is available here:
http://cupe.on.ca/educationrally
Lets spread the word and make this event huge!
It’s been quite a year – and it’s not over yet. We face many unknowns, but we do know that we are dealing with a provincial government that promotes private over public, austerity over adequate funding, and policies that punish workers and the people we serve, all while proclaiming it’s doing it “for the people.”
Our success depends on your support and doing the work on the ground at the local level. We have been working with local leaders and staff to ensure that our locals are ready to bargain and that our members are also ready to mobilize in our workplaces and communities. We have launched training opportunities throughout the province, we have built alliances, and launched a new website that will be the public face of OSBCU to our members and the communities we serve.
JOINT STATEMENT FROM EDUCATION WORKERS’ UNIONS IN ONTARIO
As parents, educators, front-line workers, education stakeholders’ and as concerned residents in Ontario, we strongly urge the government to rethink its rash decision-making on the Ontario Autism Program and put the needs of children with autism first.
The Ford government’s reckless changes to the way it supports children with autism – in particular, its cuts to direct public and not-for profit services in the community – puts desperately needed services at risk.
These changes are a devastating blow to thousands of families and will undermine the inclusion of children with autism in the public education system.
CBC News Article – · CBC News ·
The provincial government has recommended that Ontario school boards implement a hiring freeze until the details of the upcoming budget are solidified.
“I am writing to you today to recommend that school boards exercise prudence in making hiring decisions in light of the upcoming Ontario budget and the recent consultation on class size and hiring practices,” said Nancy Naylor, deputy minister of education, in a memo sent to school board heads on Thursday.
“School boards are advised to defer the annual processes of filling vacancies for retirements and other leaves related to teachers and other staff until the minister of education provides an update to the sector on or before March 15th,” Naylor continued.
The memo comes as the government reviews feedback obtained during recent consultations on class sizes in Ontario. Changes could include the removal of the cap on kindergarten and primary grade class numbers.
School boards have previously expressed fears that they could be hit by funding cuts as the Progressive Conservatives look to dig the province out of a $13.5-billion deficit.
Robin Pilkey, chair of the Toronto District School Board — the largest board in Ontario — says the memo makes it “pretty obvious” that bad news is likely on the horizon when it comes to boards’ budgets.
“It’s going to be very difficult,” Pilkey said in an interview with CBC Radio’s Metro Morning.
“Decisions are going to be made that, frankly, I think a lot of parents will be unhappy with. Our board has a large budget, but we don’t have a lot of flexibility in that budget due our collective agreement.”
This year will see the Ontario’s elementary school teachers’ union renegotiate terms of its collective bargaining agreement with the government.
Pilkey said she believes the ministry of education is sending a “shot across the bow” before the talks commence.
“I think of all this is skirmishing in advance of the contract negotiations.”
Meanwhile, the provincial government is also considering eliminating full-day kindergarten after the 2019-2020 school year, though it has committed to keeping some form of “full-day learning” in place. It recently completed consultations on the matter.
Maria Rizzo, chair of the Toronto Catholic District School Board, said all of the education-related consultations have failed to incorporate key voices in the conversation around what school boards need, and that the government has not adequately communicated what changes it expects to implement.
“We’re in the dark. We get memos in the middle of the night. We have no idea what they’re looking at. They haven’t spoken to our directors of education about priorities that school boards have,” Rizzo said.
She added that she is concerned that province will attempt to balance its budget “on the backs of kids.”
In an email statement issued Friday afternoon, Education Minister Lisa Thompson said she wants “parents to know that it is my number one priority to ensure each and every student will have access to a meaningful education.”
“To achieve this, we need to take a hard look at how school boards spend their money and make sure every single dollar invested in our education system, is a dollar invested in a student’s future,” Thompson said.
Speaking to reporters at Queen’s Park, the NDP’s education critic MP Marit Stiles said the government is “setting the stage for deep cuts in the classroom.”
She said the hiring freeze will mean that “critical education positions” will go unfilled for the new school year, and that educators will be asked to do far more with fewer resources.
Finance Minister Vic Fedeli has not revealed when the provincial budget will be released, though it generally occurs some time in the spring.
Ontario School Board Council of Unions Newsletter
Last week, thanks to all your efforts and working with our allies, we were successful in not only stopping all the proposed, concessionary changes to the OMERS pension plan, but also in securing a long sought after, positive provision for paramedics.
As noted in our joint communication last week with other OMERS Sponsor unions, the OMERS Sponsor Corporation (SC) Board voted against implementing:
See attached flyer from the Grey Bruce Labour Council endorsing local candidates in our area.
In Solidarity
All
Ontario School Board Council of Unions, Custodial Reference Group have developed a radio ad campaign.
“School Safety: It’s my Job is more than a tag line…. The reality is: the work of our school’s custodians is School Safety.
We encourage custodians to leave voice mail messages on phones with their First and last name followed by “School Safety: It’s my Job” and likewise add this phrase to their email signature block.
Check it out