CUPE education workers ratify deal with province

Brampton and Mississauga education workers represented by CUPE

Mississauga.com
November 5, 2019
Marta Marychuk

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has ratified a collective agreement with the provincial government.

The union, which represents more than 55,000 education workers across Ontario, made the announcement at Queen’s Park on Monday morning (Nov. 4).

Under the deal, the custodians, early childhood educators and clerical staff represented by the union will get a one per cent wage increase, according to a statement from the union. The agreement includes the return of 1,300 support staff jobs in the province's schools that were lost because of funding cuts.

The agreement also restores $78 million in provincial funding cuts, the union said.

"I would like to congratulate CUPE and the Council of Trustees' Association (CTA) for the ratification of the 2019-22 central agreement," said Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce said in a statement. "Our singular aim through this process was to keep students in class and provide predictability and certainty to parents, students, and educators."

Unionized education workers from 109 school board bargaining units voted between Oct. 15 and Nov. 1 on the agreement.