Education strike tough, these parents say — but they don't blame the workers

Some Ottawa parents say they're frustrated with the impact of the ongoing education worker strike — but they're not blaming those on the picket line.

Last Thursday, the government of Premier Doug Ford passed a law imposing contracts on 55,000 workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and banned them from striking. 

The bill also used the notwithstanding clause as a way to guard against constitutional challenges.

Nevertheless, CUPE members walked out Friday in protest. Early childhood educators, educational assistants and custodians are among those taking part in the strike, which is slated to continue Monday and disrupt classes all week.

Courtney Kemp said that the strike will likely force her to take leave from her job to watch her three children, one of whom has multiple disabilities.

She's currently trying to juggle a full-time job while supervising her kids' virtual school. 

"It's just chaos, honestly from the start of the day to the end of the day," Kemp said.

Education workers walk out despite strike ban

Kemp's six-year-old son, Fletcher, has global developmental delay, autism and epilepsy. She said he doesn't have the cognitive capacity to understand what virtual school is and isn't getting anything out of it.

"It's kids like Fletcher who are the ones who require the most support," she said. "They're the ones that are going to suffer the most during this strike."

Despite the strike's impact on her life, Kemp said she wholeheartedly supports the striking education workers. 

She's not alone: a new public opinion poll released Sunday heard that the majority of respondents blame the Ford government for school closures, not the union.

The online poll from Abacus Data suggests that 68 per cent of parents of school-aged children believe the Progressive Conservatives bear the most responsibility, while 71 per cent want the province to negotiate a "fair deal" with education workers rather than continue with its current strategy.

'Your constitutional rights don't matter anymore'

Mindy Sichel, a Centretown parent, said it's been difficult to accommodate the switch to online learning. She and her husband both work from home, making it difficult for her son to have a quiet place to do virtual school. 

Sichel said they plan to make the strike a learning experience. She and her son rode their bikes down to one picket line to march with the striking workers — a first for both of them. 

"I'm not in a union, and I've never been involved with that," said Sichel. "I feel like I've been kind of pushed into this situation of having to become involved because of what the government has done." 

Sichel said she was deeply concerned about workers losing the right to protest. 

"It just feels like what the government is doing is saying your fundamental rights, your constitutional rights don't matter anymore," she said.

No return in sight 

The provincial government's imposed contract gives 2.5 per cent annual raises to workers making less than $43,000 and 1.5 per cent raises for all others.

The union had been seeking annual salary increases of 11.7 per cent for its workers, who make on average $39,000 a year. It lowered that in a counter-offer last week.

The government's new law has set fines for violating the ban on strikes of up to $4,000 per employee per day — which could amount to $220 million for all 55,000 workers — and up to $500,000 per day for the union. 

CUPE has said it will fight the fines, but will also pay them if it has to. Union leaders have said education workers will be off the job "until our members decide otherwise."