TORONTO — Education workers across Ontario will be voting Thursday through to Dec. 5 to ratify a tentative deal with the province that averted a strike.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents 55,000 education workers, says the results of the vote will be released on Dec. 6. 

If CUPE’s members vote to reject the deal, the parties could go back to the table and CUPE could give another strike notice.

CUPE has said the four-year deal – which comes with a $1-per-hour raise each year, or about 3.59 per cent annually – was no different than what the province offered last week before the union issued a five-day strike notice.

The workers had walked off the job for two days two weeks ago, shutting hundreds of schools, after the government passed legislation that forced a four-year contract on them and took away their right to strike.

The province used the notwithstanding clause in its legislation to guard against a court challenge, which prompted widespread condemnation from unions across the country – the legislation was eventually repealed. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 23, 2022. 

The Canadian Press