CUPE members work-to-rule in every school in northeastern Ontario
Cleaning of hallways and gymnasiums to be done by principals
Some 2,100 custodians, secretaries and education assistants across northeastern Ontario are beginning work Monday with a list of tasks they won't be performing.
It's part of a work-to-rule campaign by CUPE, which represents some 55,000 education support staff in Ontario schools.
It will mean secretaries not filling printers with paper, teaching assistants not supervising children and custodians not cleaning hallways or gymnasiums.
"I think it's going to be rough, because they're going in there and they have a list of tasks they might normally do," says Catherine Taggert, president of the CUPE local for English and French public school custodians and secretaries in the North Bay area.
"They will need to have conversations, not just with some of the principals, but probably some of the other staff."
Taggert says Near North schools are already dirtier this school year, after provincial funding cuts have seen cleaning staff reduced and she says secretaries are also being "stretched thin" with fewer people doing the same amount of clerical work.
"And these services have been suffering some devastating cuts, so the work-to-rule is about making sure these services are there when students and parents need them," she says.
CUPE called the work-to-rule campaign after a lack of progress at the bargaining table with the provincial government. The union is also in a legal strike position as of Monday.
During this job action, much of this work — including cleaning the school — will fall to principals and other non-union staff.
Lesleigh Dye, education director for the District School Board Ontario Northeast based in Timmins, says they "respect" the right of CUPE members to decline these duties.
"It certainly is a significant amount of work for our principals and our system based staff," she says.
"However, it's important work to do. Unfortunately our level of cleanliness will not be the high, high standard that we currently have."
Here's a breakdown of the CUPE members in the northeast affected by the work-to-rule campaign:
- Algoma District School Board: 172 custodians and maintenance staff
- Conseil Scolaire de District Catholique Franco Nord: 42 custodians, maintenance staff and office workers
- Conseil Scolaire Publique du Nord Est de L'Ontario: 167 custodians, early childhood educators and education assistants
- Conseil Scolaire Catholique des Grandes Rivieres: 105 custodians and maintenance staff
- Conseil Scolaire Catholique du Nouvel-Ontario: 125 custodians and maintenance staff
- Conseil Scolaire du Grand Nord: 62 custodians and maintenance staff
- District School Board Ontario North East: 164 custodians and maintenance staff
- Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board: 538 custodians, maintenance staff, education assistants, early child educators
- Near North District School Board: 317 custodians, maintenance staff, clerical and technical employees
- Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board: 40 custodians and maintenance staff
- Northeastern Catholic District School Board: 165 custodians, maintenance staff and education assistants
- Rainbow District School Board: 162 custodians and maintenance staff
- Sudbury Catholic District School Board: 139 custodians and maintenance staff
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