Education workers vote 93% in favour of strike mandate, could walk off job by month’s end

A major union representing education workers in Ontario says its members have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a potential strike that could take effect by the end of the month.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) says 93 per cent of its 55,000 members voted in favour of job action, putting them in a legal strike position as of Sept. 30.

The union says that while it intends to continue bargaining with the Ontario government and hopes to avoid a strike, its members are concerned about recent changes to the province’s education system.

The measures include increases to average class sizes, shifts towards online learning models and a gradual reduction in the number of working teachers.

The changes were implemented over the past year by the Progressive Conservatives under Premier Doug Ford.

The president of CUPE’s bargaining unit says members are prepared to walk off the job in order to push back against what they see as cuts that will compromise the quality of education in Ontario’s schools.