TORONTO, November 14, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The following is a statement from Laura Walton, educational assistant and president of CUPE’s Ontario School Boards Council of Unions:

"This afternoon, Ontario’s education workers have their rights back. With the shadow of Bill 28 lifted, education workers can now focus on achieving a fairly negotiated collective agreement that meets the needs of students, families, and workers.

"This law should never have been adopted. Bill 28 imposed a four-year concessionary contract that would have pushed more of us into poverty while stripping us of our Charter rights, human rights, and any legal avenue to fight back.

"Students and parents need funding guarantees to ensure services are being provided in schools.

"School boards need the government to make a meaningful investment, too. School boards can’t hire or retain education workers. There is a crisis in our schools because no one wants to work for poverty level wages, be laid off for months every year, and be continuously disrespected and undervalued by the government.

"With high inflation forcing more education workers to use foodbanks or choose between their rent or their car payment, we need a significant wage increase just to get by.

"We are not giving up on our fight for student success and good jobs."

In September and October 2021, prior to the steep rise in inflation this year, education workers responded to a CUPE survey about what a decade of government-imposed wage...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiTWh0dHBzOi8vZmluYW5jZS55YWhvb...