The union representing education support workers says a final contract offer from the province would mean over half of the union's 55,000 education members would only get a 1.5 per cent pay hike despite being the lowest paid education workers in the sector.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) added the final offer the Ford government threatened to impose on members would push more workers into poverty.
CUPE's central bargaining committee is still waiting for a response from the Council of Trustees’ Associations (CTA) and the Ford government on an offer from the union.
CUPE pointed the majority of their education members would not get a 2.5 per cent wage increase because the language in the government’s proposal is based on pay scale or hourly rates instead of individual earnings. But about 65 per cent of education workers are laid off every year, and many work about 32 hours a week, not 40.
"Our proposals would guarantee more full-time work in schools and ensure that early childhood educators and educational assistants, for example, aren’t having their labour stolen by providing unpaid prep time," added the statement. "Instead of addressing the under-employment of education workers which would in turn ensure better services for students, the Ford government fails to provide the additional funding that is needed to increase the hours of services and improve the working conditions for workers who are casual, temporary, and part-time."