The union representing Ontario’s education workers says its members have voted to adopt a new contract that was drawn up last month. The 55,000 workers narrowly avoided a strike in early October when the CUPE bargaining team reached an eleventh-hour tentative deal with the province. The union says 79 percent of the members voted in favour of the new deal but adds it was not passed unanimously. Under the deal, the workers would get a one percent wage increase.
Teachers have voted to strike
Elementary teachers and education workers have voted 98 percent in favour of a strike, though the union wouldn’t lay out a timeline for when it could happen. Unions representing secondary and Catholic teachers are also holding strike votes.
Cellphone ban in classroom kicks in
Monday marks the end of casual cellphone presence in Ontario classrooms. The Progressive Conservative government announced back in August that they would be implementing a ban on personal mobile devices inside classrooms or during “instructional time.” Exceptions to the ban will be made if the devices are required for health and medical purposes, to support special education needs or if an educator says it is necessary for the lesson
