A tentative deal reached between CUPE and the Ontario government late Sunday evening

Jo-Anne White, President of CUPE 1022. Photo by Max Reid, QNet News

By Sarah Cooke

BELLEVILLE – Parents were able to send their kids to school this morning after a deal was reached Sunday night between CUPE and the provincial government.

Jo-Anne White, President of CUPE 1022 (the local chapter of CUPE), says that the deal was an accomplishment for the union. She says that’s because it was reached without any concessions on their end.

“If you can ever have a deal with no concessions with a little bit of a bonus moving forward then you’ve accomplished something,” said White.

White went on to say that while the government may have felt forced into getting a settlement while a federal election campaign is going on, the public support of the cause and recognition that educational support staff deserve adequate compensation was helpful.

“We are the lowest paid education workers yet we work with the most vulnerable students in the schools,” she told QNet via a phone interview.

While the 700 members of the local chapter voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike, some were fearful of the outcome if it actually came to that.

“A lot were fearful, because they’ve never been in that position before. But all were very supportive and ready to take the challenge up to try and prove to the community and the government that the work we do in the school is valued and how effective we can be,” said White.

The full terms of the deal won’t be known until the deal is voted on by CUPE members. But according to reports, the government will spend up to 20 million on 300 full-time equivalent CUPE jobs across the province. The workers will also get a 1% salary increase per year and it the deal retains the status quo on sick leave which is 11 days at 100% pay and 120 short-term leave days at 90% of pay.

The new contract is set to expire August 31, 2022 – two months after the next provincial election.