A possible strike involving CUPE members, could see parents scrambling as early as next week.
Both the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland Clarington Catholic School Board and the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board have sent out notices to families warning that if CUPE members decide to strike, all schools will close and all students will transition to remote learning.
CUPE represents a large number of education workers, including custodians, maintenance workers, clerical staff, educational workers, early childhood educators, and professional staff.
In their letter to parents, the KPR School Board says ”
We appreciate that the potential of closing our schools is difficult news, and not a decision we make lightly, but the reality is that without CUPE education workers on-site, we could not ensure safe conditions for all our students. This course of action is based on the following considerations:
- supervision of students;
- medical support and care for all students;
- safe operation of water and sanitation systems, including required water flushing;
- conditions of school buildings and classrooms, and
- overall safety and security.
School boards must be given five days’ notice of any possible strike action. If we receive notice from CUPE about pending strike action in the coming days, we will share further information at that time.”
