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Labour Update Parent/Guardian - Oct 3
Published on Oct 3, 2019 15:24

October 3, 2019

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Yesterday, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) representing custodial workers in our Board announced their intent to proceed with a full legal strike beginning on Monday, Oct. 7. We do know that continued negotiations are scheduled for this weekend between CUPE, the provincial government and the Trustee Associations and we remain hopeful that an agreement is reached.

We know that custodial staff play an important role in keeping our schools safe and clean and so strike action would undoubtedly have an impact on your child’s learning environment. At this time, we have not made a decision about whether or not schools will be open for student learning on Monday morning, should a full strike proceed.

Student and staff safety is our top priority and so we must closely examine how we can ensure a healthy and safe environment for everyone in our schools, in the absence of custodial staff. We understand that a decision to cancel classes on Monday would have a significant impact on our families. At this time, we are encouraging you to begin exploring alternate arrangements for your children next week (October 7 - 11). Please know we will communicate any decisions that will impact families as soon as humanly possible and we encourage you to check our board website at www.smcdsb.on.ca for updates.

We do remain hopeful that a contract can be negotiated this weekend and/or that full strike action is averted. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we continue to work through this difficult situation.

Yours in Faith,

Brian Beal

Director Education